


Defenders of the Universe

by GenericHero



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Galaxy Garrison, Galra Empire, Galra Keith (Voltron), Garrison Klance, M/M, Protective Keith (Voltron), Protective Lance (Voltron), Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Roommates, Team as Family, battle couple klance, inspired by gotg but doesn't follow the plot of the films that much lol, space ranger partners, very loosely a guardians of the galaxy au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-06-30 20:58:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15759570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenericHero/pseuds/GenericHero
Summary: “The name’s Lance, but you can call me Starshooter,” Lance said with a wink.“Does anyone actually call you that?” Keith asked, followed by an ‘oomph’ as Lance elbowed him in the ribs.“And this stick in the mud here is Keith, my—” Lance hesitated, glancing at Keith, who quirked an eyebrow at him. Simply calling Keith his friend after everything they’d been through together didn’t feel like enough. “Partner,” Lance settled on.That sounded right.---In which Lance goes to space and winds up with a grumpy Galra, a talking raccoon, a second family and a universe to save.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so uh. This started as a Guardians of the Galaxy au, but it doesn't really follow the plot of the films that much because I wanted to do my own thing with it, so aside from a couple scenes/ideas it's pretty much a completely different story haha.
> 
> I also made [art](https://genericpegasusknight.tumblr.com/post/174732461772/art-i-did-for-a-galra-keithaltean-lance-guardians) for this fic so check that out if you want!!
> 
> Thank you so much to [Miranda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/221bdisneystreet/pseuds/221bdisneystreet) and [Brigid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstinspace/pseuds/angstinspace) for beta-ing this chapter for me, ily guys <3

Nexlii was, without a doubt, the worst planet Lance had ever had the misfortune of being stationed on.

At least on the other planets he had been to he’d had something to _look_ at. Nexlii was nothing but purple sand and rocks that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

It wasn’t that Lance minded being out here. Going to space had been his dream, after all; and at first, it had been everything he had ever imagined. But after three years, his initial excitement had faded, and he was left feeling strangely… empty. Like he was missing something, and he didn’t know what it was.

Lance missed his family, but he had expected that. He knew he’d be able to see them again soon anyway. Yet even when he was with them, the feeling remained; the feeling that a crucial part of his identity was missing.

Lance’s mother always said he was a child of the stars, and he had hoped to find his destiny out among them.

Three years had passed and he hadn’t found it yet. He was beginning to think he wasn’t going to.

He sighed, humming along to the radio as he tapped in the latest report. The one saving grace of having the night shift in the observatory at the Garrison was that there was no one else around to complain if he had the radio cranked up to max volume.

“300 hours. 2 degree temperature drop, no physical changes,” he muttered. Then, louder, in an announcer-like voice: “In other news, Lance McClain has been promoted to the planet’s first human thermometer. His parents must be _so_ proud.” He leaned back in his chair with a groan, running his hands through his hair as he looked out of the observatory windows.

That was when he noticed something falling from the sky.

At first he was going to dismiss it as one of the Garrison’s ships, but it didn’t look like any ship he’d ever seen before, and its movements were far quicker and more precise than anything the clunky Garrison ships were capable of. He sat up, watching as it continued its descent towards the surface of the planet.

He quickly snatched up his tablet from where it rested on the control panel in front of him and snapped a photo before the ship disappeared entirely.

“Oh man. Oh _man._ ” Lance jumped up from his chair, grabbing his Garrison-issued orange and white jacket from the back of it. He sprinted towards the elevator, pausing only to pick up a blaster from the rack near the exit and sling it over his shoulder.

Just in case.

 

 

 

The hangar doors slid open with a metallic screech and Lance pulled his jacket collar closer against the cool night air. The sole redeeming quality of this lousy excuse for a planet was that it had an Earth-like atmosphere, which meant there was no need for clunky space suits, a fact that Lance was immediately grateful for after being cramped in the stuffy observatory for hours.

He jogged towards the front of the hangar, sizing up the clunky transport vehicles before his eyes landed on a bright red and white hoverbike tucked away in the corner. Sure, he wasn’t _technically_ authorized to use it, but this was also _technically_ an emergency, right?

He started towards it, unable to keep a grin from forming on his lips as he hoisted himself over it. He pulled his tablet out and connected it to the control panel before revving the engine, letting out a giddy laugh as the bike came to life at his fingertips. Man, Iverson was going to _kill_ him if he found out about this.

He tapped his foot on the gas pedal and the bike lurched forward, speeding towards the opposite wall of the hangar. Lance let out a shriek and leaned hard to his left, somehow narrowly managing to make it out of the doors of the hangar without ending up as a Lance-sized smear on the wall.

“Okay, okay, I’m okay, I got this,” he assured himself. Luckily, there were significantly less things to crash into outside of the hangar. The surface of the planet was mostly barren, covered in dark violet sand with the occasional towering crystal cluster jutting up from the ground.

Once he felt a bit more confident, he pulled up the picture he had taken of the ship on his tablet, trying to match the landscape in the photo with what was around him. He spotted a crystal ridge that looked familiar and headed towards it. Feeling a bit more daring now, he pressed his foot down on the gas, letting out a whoop as the bike lunged forward at breakneck speed, the cool wind blowing through his hair.

He was so caught up in the rush he almost missed the chasm in front of him.

He slammed on the brakes, clinging to the bike for dear life as his momentum threw him forward. The bike came to a stop a few paces from the mouth of the chasm, and Lance stayed there for a moment, breathing heavily.

He eventually managed to pry his fingers from the handles and shakily step off of the bike, but his legs were practically jelly and buckled beneath him, leaving him to fall face-first into the purple sand. He sat up with a groan, dusting himself off and taking a moment to survey his surroundings.

Further beyond the chasm was the crystal ridgeline he had seen in the photo, so the ship had to be around here somewhere. He inched towards the cliff edge on his knees. If he was going to hide a ship around here, that was where he’d do it.

“Oh, man,” he breathed as he got closer, lying down on his stomach. There, on a small ledge on the other side of the chasm, was the ship.

He unclipped his binoculars from his belt and held them up, zooming in on the ship. Up close, he could see that it was vaguely diamond-shaped, with its wings and sides converging into sharp edges. It was bigger than the Garrison ships, about the size of a large transport ship, and completely black save for a few bright violet lights on the side.

As he watched, the doors at the back of the ship slid open, and a small ramp descended into the sand. Lance held his breath.

A hooded figure stepped out of the ship, dressed in a dark space suit, their face obscured by a mask covered in strange glowing markings. As they came to the bottom of the ramp, they stretched their arms over their head, their hood falling to their shoulders. They pressed a hand against the side of their mask and it dissipated as though it was made of smoke.

Lance breathed in sharply. Whoever this was— they weren’t human.

They had large, cat-like ears on the sides of their head, framed by inky black hair with a dark magenta ombré. Their skin was a deep lilac color and they had dark lines that ran from the base of their jaw to beneath their eyes. Lance absently brushed his thumb underneath his own eye.

The alien pilot’s most startling feature was their eyes, which glowed bright yellow even in the darkness. Lance inched forward, momentarily forgetting how to breathe. In an instant, the pilot froze and whipped around, their bright yellow eyes locking with Lance’s.

Lance let out a startled cry and scrambled backwards, away from the cliff edge, his fingers resting on the blaster draped across his back. He waited, crouched in tense apprehension, for what felt like hours.

Finally, he cautiously crept back to the mouth of the chasm and looked down.

The ship was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to [Miranda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/221bdisneystreet/pseuds/221bdisneystreet) and [Brigid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstinspace/pseuds/angstinspace) for beta-ing this chapter for me, you guys are amazing ily <333

_Let nothing stand between you and your objective._

_Don’t do anything to draw unnecessary attention to yourself._

_Don’t let anyone know who you are._

 

“Kogane.”

Keith blinked, taking a step forward from the line of cadets and presenting his badge to the stone-faced commander who stood before them. Keith held his breath as the commander snatched it from his hands, looking it over.

“You’ll be staying in room G12,” the commander grunted, handing the badge back. “Help yourself to anything in the supply room on the third floor. Meet back here tomorrow at 800 hours for your first assignment.”

Keith dipped his head as he took his leave, stuffing his badge back into his pocket and letting out the breath he had been holding as he made his way to the elevator at the back of the hangar. He leaned against the side as the doors slid closed, tapping his fingers against his arm.

The Garrison station was smaller than he’d anticipated. Not to say that it wasn’t _big,_ but he’d admittedly expected a bit more. The facility had five floors, with the hangar and med bay on the first floor, the research lab on the second, the supply room and the residential hall on the third, and the observatory on the fifth. Keith wasn’t sure what was on the fourth floor, as only high-ranking officials were allowed there.

After picking up a small box of supplies from the supply room, Keith headed back to the residential hall. This section of the station was more dimly lit than the rest, illuminated only by a few pale orange bars of light that ran along the walls. Keith dipped his head to the occasional passerby, hoping to remain inconspicuous, but he could still feel their gazes boring into him as he walked. His growing feeling of unease only increased as he reached his room, and he took a deep breath as he held his badge up to the panel on the side of the door, preparing to introduce himself to his new roommate.

The door slid open with a whir, and Keith immediately let out a small sigh of relief. The room was empty.

Keith set the box of supplies on the empty desk on the left side of the room and lay down on the bed next to it, his legs dangling over the edge as he stared up at the dull grey ceiling. It took only a few seconds for his relief to transform into impatience, as he knew that this was only delaying the inevitable, and he sat back up, bouncing his leg in nervous apprehension as he watched the door. Eventually he grew tired of that, and his gaze drifted to the opposite side of the room.

It looked almost identical to Keith’s own, aside from the various junk, knick-knacks, and messy stacks of paper that covered nearly every surface, including the floor. Above the bed hung a board covered by dozens of photos of people smiling back at him. Keith glanced over his shoulder at the barren wall behind him, without even a board to hang pictures on. Not that Keith would have anything to put on one anyways.

He shook his head to pull himself out of his thoughts and stepped up to the mirror near his bed, clearing his throat.

“Uh. Hi. I’m Keith,” he told his reflection awkwardly. “It looks like we’re going to be roommates. So, it’s nice to meet you?” He bared his teeth in a forced smile that quickly fell into a grimace and groaned, letting his forehead fall against the mirror.

He was no good at this. He had never been very good at talking to people; he had never _needed_ to be. He was a warrior, not… whatever _this_ was. He let out a resigned sigh and walked out of the room, hoping that some fresh air would help clear his mind.

Keith wasn’t sure how long he was gone, but by the time he came back, he wasn’t alone.

His roommate, a lanky boy with dark skin and short brown hair, lay sprawled out on the bed on the right side of the room, with a cloth mask covering his face and a headset over his ears. Keith sighed. Introductions would have to wait until tomorrow, then. He stepped over to his side of the room and curled up on his bed, rolling over until he was facing the wall and pulling the covers over his head.

  

Keith was woken up by the sound of an alarm. He was alert in an instant, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he tried to remember where he was. He heard someone groan from beside him and glanced over just in time to see his roommate reach out and smack at something on his desk until the alarm stopped, before flopping onto his stomach and covering his head with his pillow.

Keith frowned at him before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and getting up. “I, uh, I think we’re supposed to get up,” he said, tugging on the pillow covering the boy’s head.

“Five more minutes,” the boy grumbled, pulling the pillow tighter.

Keith yanked the pillow out of his grasp and the boy let out an offended cry, finally sitting up to send Keith a scowl that would probably have been a bit more effective if the boy wasn’t still wearing that stupid mask. The boy seemed to come to the same conclusion, and he quickly reached up and pulled it off, his dark blue eyes meeting Keith’s.

Almost immediately, the boy’s expression changed, and he looked a little dazed, blinking at Keith while his mouth dropped open a bit. Then he tilted his head, his brows furrowing.

“Hey, do I know you from somewhere?”

“Sorry?”

The boy frowned, shaking his head. “Uh, never mind. I just feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.” He yawned, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re one of the new transfers, right? Is this your first station?”

Keith nodded.

“Ah. Well, unfortunately for you, you got stuck on the most boring planet on this side of the universe. But luckily for you, you wound up with the best roommate in the universe. I’m Lance, by the way,” the boy said with a wink.

“Keith.”

“Keith,” Lance repeated. “Alright, cool. Nice to meet you.”

 

 

Lance wasn’t really sure what to make of Keith.

They had lived in the same room together for a week and Lance still felt like he didn’t know the guy at all.

Keith kept to himself and often only came back to their room at night a few hours after curfew or sometimes not at all. His side of the room remained barren, save for a small box of supplies that still sat packed up on his desk. Lance had started worrying that maybe he’d done something to offend him, as Keith barely seemed to acknowledge Lance’s existence; even when Lance tried to make conversation, Keith remained quiet and closed off.

Which was fine, Lance supposed. As far as roommates were concerned, he could definitely do worse.

Lance pushed all thoughts of his reclusive mullet-head roommate to the back of his mind as he pulled up the mission posting on his tablet, and his mood immediately brightened when he found out that he was assigned to a scouting mission. Sure, scouting missions weren’t exactly the most exciting assignment in the universe, but since the mission would take him to the other side of the planet, he’d get to fly one of the ships. And flying was easily Lance’s favorite part of his job.

However, his excitement faltered as he made his way to the ship’s cabin only to find the pilot’s seat already occupied.

“Uh, what are you doing?” he asked Keith, who was currently sitting in _his_ spot.

Keith raised an eyebrow at Lance as he pulled his seatbelt across his chest. “Flying the ship?”

“But I’m—” Lance sighed, swallowing his objection and sinking into the passenger seat.

Keith ran through the startup procedures with practiced ease, the ship’s controls lighting up in front of them as the engine roared to life, and Lance felt a tinge of bitterness spark in his chest. Ignorant to Lance’s plight, Keith drummed his fingers against the control wheel as the hangar doors slid open in front of them, and once the station gave the all-clear, he pulled the ship into the air.

Now, Lance considered himself to be a decent pilot. But Keith— Keith flew like he had been doing it his whole life, like he was _born_ to fly. He made even the clunky Garrison transport ship glide like a luxury jet as it climbed into the sky, the ship’s motions fluid and precise. Not that Lance would ever admit any of that.

It was completely unfair. Not only did the guy look like he had just walked off the set of an action movie, but he had to be _cool_ as well. It made Lance’s insides twist uncomfortably. Jealousy, he decided. After all, Lance had worked so hard to get where he was, and this _rookie_ thought he could just come out of nowhere to show him up? And as if that wasn’t enough, the jerk had the audacity to look _smug_ while doing it.

“So, are you going to contact the station or what?” the jerk in question asked as they neared the landing site.

 _“You gonna contact the station or what?”_ Lance repeated in a mocking voice as he punched the number into the radio with probably a bit more exaggeration than was strictly necessary. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Keith quirk an eyebrow at him, and he slouched back into his chair as the com rang, crossing his arms over his chest. Deep down he knew he was being a bit petty, but seriously, who did this guy think he was?

The com connected and Lance gave the station a quick update on their progress. He and Keith were supposed to investigate one of the radio towers set up by the Garrison that had recently stopped sending out signals, and to do what they could to repair it. Keith carefully lowered the ship onto the landing site and Lance was out of his seat before it touched down, gathering their supplies and picking up one of the blasters stowed in the cargo hull. He headed outside without waiting for Keith, the hum of the engine still roaring in his ears as he walked down the ship’s ramp to the sandy bank beneath it.

The terrain on this side of the planet was more rock than sand, and the uneven surface of the land had forced them to land the ship about a half mile from the site of the tower. Lance lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the fading light of the sun as he surveyed the landscape. The light reflected off of the dark violet rocks surrounding him in a way that made them almost look like glass.

Lance heard the engine of the ship behind him fall silent, followed by the sound of footsteps against metal. He glanced back to see Keith descending the ship’s ramp, streaks of sunlight falling over his face and his dark hair.

Lance couldn't shake the feeling that he’d seen Keith somewhere before.

“Everything okay?” Keith asked, and Lance quickly averted his gaze, realizing that he’d been staring.

“We should get moving,” Lance said, starting off in the direction of the tower.

“You, uh. You know you’re going the wrong way, right?”

Lance scoffed, turning around. “Of course I know that. I was just testing you.”

“…Right.”

Keith led them down a narrow gorge between two steep cliffs, following the beacon on his tablet. They continued on in silence, the sun setting behind them and leaving the land shrouded in darkness, but the moon provided them with just enough light to continue on unhindered.

The gorge broke off into a large clearing ahead, and they had almost reached it when Keith stopped, and Lance let out a quiet yelp as he ran into him.

“Uh… Keith?” Lance asked, poking Keith’s back when he remained unresponsive.

“My scanner is picking up life forms up ahead.”

Lance blinked. “Life forms? You mean like… aliens?” He leaned forward, trying to peer at the tablet over Keith’s shoulder.

“Well, technically, _we’d_ be the aliens here.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Anything we should be worried about, Mr. Know-It-All?”

Keith hesitated a moment, tapping his finger against the side of the tablet. “I’m not sure. They’re still pretty far away, but…” He trailed off, taking a few steps forward into the clearing, and Lance moved to stand beside him.

“Oh…” Keith said quietly as he looked up, and Lance breathed in sharply as he followed Keith’s gaze.

“Is that… the radio tower?”

Keith’s lips pulled into a thin line. “I think it was, at one point.”

Lance swallowed. _Mangled_ didn’t begin to describe the state of the tower— there was nothing left of it but twisted shards of metal scattered around the side of the clearing.

“Maybe… maybe the wind just pushed it down?” Lance suggested hopefully.

Keith didn’t answer, the light of the tablet illuminating his face as he looked out at the wreckage. “I think we should go back,” he said carefully.

“Why, Keithy boy, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were scared,” Lance teased, nudging Keith’s arm. Keith sent him a glare before looking back down at the scanner, then he froze.

“The life forms are closer.”

“How close?” Lance pressed, the urgency in Keith’s voice enough for him to unsling the blaster on his back.

“I—I don’t understand,” Keith said, looking up and scanning the clearing wildly. “They’re— they should be right in front of us—”

Then, in a scene that looked like something straight out of a horror movie, a dark skeletal limb burst out of the ground. Keith and Lance jumped back as a giant, skeletal, vulture-like creature with glowing emerald eyes pulled itself out of the ground with a horrifying screech.

The creature towered a few feet over them as it drew itself up to full height, and Lance and Keith continued to back away slowly, Lance keeping his blaster trained on it.

Without warning, the creature lunged.

Lance fired a few shots at it and the creature recoiled, letting out a hissing sound and slumping over. Lance was about to suggest a retreat when he caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eye.

“Keith, behind you!”

A second zombie-bird lashed out at Keith with a clawed talon, and Keith narrowly managed to duck to the side to avoid the attack. Lance aimed his blaster at it but before he could fire, Keith lunged forward, a curved blade appearing in his hand in a flash of light seconds before he drove it into the creature. The creature fell back with a hiss, landing in a heap on the ground, and Keith slowly backed away.

“Dude, where the heck did you get a _sword_ from?” Lance asked.

Keith blinked at him, then looked blankly down at the blade in his hand, as though he had no idea how it had gotten there. “Uh,” he supplied helpfully.

Lance was about to question him further when another skeletal talon burst up from the ground a few paces away from them.

And another.

And another.

And Lance caught sight of the creatures he and Keith had taken down not seconds before pulling themselves up again— no, pulling themselves _together_ again, their ebony bones clicking together as they brought themselves back to full height with a terrible screech.

“Now what?” Lance asked Keith as they backed away from the steadily growing army of giant zombified bird-creatures.

“Run?” Keith suggested.

Lance didn’t need to be told twice, immediately turning on his heel and sprinting away from the zombie-bird army, with Keith at his side.

“We need to try to circle back to the ship,” Lance said.

Before Keith could respond, he was cut off by a deafening crack— their only warning before the ground collapsed beneath them.

For a moment, Lance was left plummeting through darkness, then something slammed into him and he was underwater. He twisted around and pushed towards what he hoped was the surface, finally opening his eyes and gasping for breath as he felt the cool air against his face.

He rubbed the water out of his eyes, glancing around. The large cavern around him was illuminated by the pool of fluorescent magenta water he had fallen into, with ripples of light dancing along the dark violet rocks.

“Keith!” he called out, twisting around and scanning the cavern.

“Here,” a voice answered, and Lance turned to see Keith clinging to the side of the cavern, his wet hair falling into his eyes.

“You okay?” Lance asked, and Keith grimaced.

“Not really. I think I hit my leg on something.”

Lance swam towards him, holding out his arm in a silent offering. Keith’s eyes widened a fraction before he took it, and Lance pulled him to the far side of the cavern, where the water was shallow enough to stand.

“What now?” Keith asked, letting go of Lance’s arm.

Lance shrugged, the water sloshing around his knees as he walked. “Guess we just… keep walking and hope we can find a way out of here?” Keith grumbled something unintelligible in response, and Lance glanced over at him, frowning as he noticed that Keith was limping. “Don’t you think you should take a look at your leg?”

“It’s fine. Let’s just get out of here.”

Lance’s frown deepened, but he let out a resigned sigh. “If you say so.”

The cavern ahead of them narrowed into a small tunnel, and as they made their way inside, Lance noticed that the walls were lined with strange luminous vines that criss-crossed over the dark rocks like glowing blue veins. Small white flowers dotted the vines and shrank into buds as they walked past.

“Whoa,” Lance said, reaching towards one of the buds. “We haven’t found plant life anywhere else on the planet. Keith, do you still have your tablet with you? We should get pictures.”

Keith rummaged around in the knapsack slung across his shoulder before pulling out the tablet and handing it to Lance. Lance’s heart sunk a bit as a few drops of water fell off of it, but to his surprise, the screen still lit up as he tapped on the button.

“Wow, these things are durable,” he mumbled, lifting it up to snap a few pictures of the strange flora that covered the walls of the cavern.

Then he froze, looking back towards the end of the tunnel.

“Did you hear that?” he asked, keeping his voice low, though he wasn’t exactly sure why.

“Hear what?”

“It’s like… a hum? Well, it’s almost more of a feeling than a sound, if that makes sense.”

“It doesn’t,” Keith assured him, “and I don’t hear anything.”

Lance lowered the tablet and started down the tunnel again, ignoring the strange look Keith sent him.

“Shouldn’t we be walking _away_ from ominous noises?”

“Come on, Keith, where’s your sense of adventure?” Lance teased, before wrinkling his nose a bit at the squelching noises his soaked boots made as he walked. He was definitely going to wind up with blisters later.

“I think I’ve had enough adventure for one day,” Keith grumbled.

The pulsing hum grew louder as they rounded a corner, and Lance found himself hesitating. Truthfully, there was something about it that made him feel uneasy, but it wasn’t like he was going to admit that with _Keith_ around.

So he pressed onward, the humming growing louder and louder until the vibrations started to shake the ground beneath his feet and dislodge dust from the tunnel around him.

“What _is_ that?” Keith asked from behind him. "I don’t like this. Something feels wrong about this place.”

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the humming fell silent.

The path beyond them opened up into a spacious cavern, with beams of moonlight filtering in through breaks in the rocks above them. The entire cavern was filled with about a foot of glowing magenta water, the walls covered by the same luminous blue vines they had seen in the tunnel with flowers that dwarfed the ones they had seen before.

But none of that was what caught Lance’s attention.

Because slumped against the left side of the cavern, half buried in rocks and covered in vines, was a starship.

It resembled the one Lance had seen several nights before, with the same ebony coloring and violet lights on the side that still flickered on every couple seconds with a static-y buzzing sound. But this ship was far, far larger than the one he had seen before, roughly as tall as a small skyscraper and as long as at least twenty jetliners put together. It looked as though it had been here for a very long time, as Lance couldn’t imagine the tangle of vines that grew around it had cropped up overnight, and there were clear signs of water damage scarring the bottom of the ship.

“Lance, we need to get out of here. Now,” Keith said through his teeth.

Lance looked back to find that Keith was still standing near the entrance of the cavern, eyeing the ship warily.

“Are you kidding me?” Lance threw his arms over his head, running his fingers through his hair in an exaggerated motion. “Do— do you realize what this _is?_ This is an alien ship! This is indisputable proof that there’s intelligent life out there!”

Keith remained silent, his expression unreadable. Lance pulled the tablet from his bag as he turned away, sweeping the camera over the expanse of the ship as he walked alongside it. But then his gaze caught on a strange insignia printed on the side, and his pace faltered.

Something about the symbol felt vaguely familiar, leaving Lance feeling like the air around him had suddenly grown colder, like his blood had started to freeze in his veins.

“Alright, you have the video, now let’s get out of here,” Keith said, keeping his voice low and finally moving to stand beside Lance.

Lance forced a laugh. “Geez, I didn’t take you for a such a worrywart, Keith,” he said, turning the tablet towards Keith and zooming in on his face.

Keith scowled at him from behind the camera. “Stop pointing that thing at me! And I mean it, we’re leaving now. I’ll haul you out on my back if I have to.”

Lance lowered the tablet just enough to stick his tongue out at Keith. “I’d like to see you try, Mullet.”

Keith’s eyes narrowed at the challenge and he took a step towards Lance, who jumped backwards with an undignified squeak, the tablet flailing in his hands.

They both froze as a violent tremor shook the cavern, followed by the horrible sound of metal scraping against metal, pulling Lance’s gaze back towards the ship.

The humming noise returned, louder than ever, followed by the sound of slow, heavy footsteps.

Lance leapt back with a yelp as a large metal panel fell off the side of the ship, crashing into the water below and causing a small wave to sweep over Lance’s knees. He felt Keith grab his arm, urgently pulling him away from the gaping hole in the side of the ship, but just before Lance turned away he thought he caught sight of a glowing violet light appear in the darkness.

Lance stuffed his tablet back into his bag as Keith pulled him towards one of the tunnels carved into the side of the cavern, this one different from the one they’d entered through earlier. Lance silently prayed that it wouldn’t lead them to a dead end as the footsteps behind them continued, slow and steady, shaking the ground every time they connected with it. The water around Lance’s feet resisted him with every step, leaving him feeling as though he was running in slow motion, and his heart pounded in his throat. Keith held onto his arm so tightly that his nails dug into Lance’s skin, but Lance couldn’t find it in him to care.

The footsteps behind them stopped.

Keith glanced behind them and his eyes widened, and he let out a curse before yanking Lance to the side seconds before the world erupted in fire.

Lance squeezed his eyes shut against the blinding light, unable to hear anything but the ringing in his ears, and the only thing left grounding him in reality was Keith’s hand clutching his wrist, dragging him forward. Time seemed to grind to a halt, and Lance wasn’t sure if he’d been running for hours or merely seconds before he finally dared to open his eyes again.

The blinding light had faded, and Lance glanced back over his shoulder to find a deep, charred scar running along the side of the cavern, with the tunnel they had been heading towards collapsed and destroyed.

Lance shifted his gaze back towards the ship to find the source of the blast, finally catching his first glimpse of their pursuer.

It was something that Lance could only describe as a robotic monster, standing about three stories high with unnaturally long metal limbs, clawed fingers, and a single glowing bright violet eye where its face would be. Even now, it continued to slowly pursue them, moonlight illuminating its metal features as it stepped underneath the shafts of light in the center of the cavern.

Lance looked back at Keith, who was still holding onto Lance’s arm, leading him towards another one of the tunnels that lined the cavern. Lance called out Keith’s name, pulling him back.

“What is it?” Keith asked as he looked back, his eyes wide and frantic.

“We can’t leave. If we go into one of those tunnels, that thing could bring the whole cave down on top of us.”

Keith’s eyebrows furrowed as he turned to face Lance completely, still clutching on to Lance’s wrist. “Then what do we do?” he asked, desperation creeping into his voice.

“We have to fight back.”

Keith’s eyes widened, then quickly darted back to where the robot was undoubtedly closing the distance between them.

“That thing’s powerful, but it’s slow,” Lance continued. “As long as we watch out for its ranged attack, if we play it safe and try to find a weakness, we might have a chance.”

Keith studied him for a moment, his expression unreadable, before he dipped his head. “Okay,” he said, his hand falling away from Lance’s wrist, and when his dark eyes met Lance’s again, Lance could see a fiery determination burning within them. “I’m going in.”

“Wait—” Lance reached out to grab him but Keith was already gone, darting off like a bullet with his blade appearing in his hand in a flash of light as he ran to meet their attacker.

“So much for playing it safe,” Lance muttered, quickly unslinging his blaster.

Keith lunged towards the monster, swinging his sword in a sharp arc aimed at the thing’s leg, but the blow bounced off of the metal harmlessly. The robot lifted its arm to swat at Keith, but as Lance predicted, its movements were slow and sluggish, and Keith was able to dodge the attack easily.

As soon as Keith was clear, Lance fired a few shots at the robot, most of which bounced off harmlessly, but Lance narrowed his eyes as he noticed it raise its arm to block the shot aimed at its face. But before Lance could say anything, a circle of light flashed around the robot’s eye as it lowered its arm, and Lance could feel the air around him prickle with electricity.

“Keith, look out!” he yelled.

The robot’s eye exploded into a blinding beam of light, disintegrating everything in its path, burning through thick rock pillars as though they were made of paper. Lance watched helplessly as Keith narrowly avoided being caught in the blast, but relaxed a bit as he realized that Keith would be able to outrun the beam easily, just as he had before.

But then Keith’s bad leg crumpled beneath him.

Time seemed to slow, and Lance lunged forward. He wasn’t sure what he was planning to do, he wasn’t sure there was anything he _could_ do, but he knew he couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

He threw himself between Keith and the blast, raising his hand towards it, as though he could stop it through sheer force of will alone.

The beam of light never made it past his fingertips.

The force of the blow knocked Lance back a few inches, but he stood his ground, even as the blinding light engulfed him and he closed his eyes against it. He felt like he was on fire, like he had been standing here for hours, and he could feel his strength failing. Then, just as he was sure he was about to give out, the pressure and heat around him released, the white faded from his vision, and he was left stumbling backwards.

He felt something grab him by the shoulders, holding him steady, and he lifted his gaze to see Keith in front of him, his dark violet eyes wide.

Keith. Keith was okay.

Lance felt relief wash over him, finally feeling like he could breathe again. Keith said something that was drowned out by the ringing in Lance’s ears, but he looked worried, so Lance sent him a shaky smile. Keith’s brows furrowed, an indiscernible expression crossing his face.

 _You idiot,_ he mouthed, reaching up as though he was going to touch Lance’s face. But then he froze, pulling his hand back and looking away, his expression turning stony. Lance didn’t need to follow his gaze to know what he was looking at.

Lance’s mind finally caught up with him and he realized that he was sitting on his knees, with Keith kneeling down in front of him. He felt exhausted to the point that even the slightest motion seemed like an impossibility, and he could see his hands shaking from where they rested on top of his knees.

Keith looked back at him, his eyebrows drawn together in a vulnerable, hopeless expression that looked foreign and unnatural on his face, and Lance decided that he never wanted Keith to look like that again. He reached out and grabbed Keith’s shoulder, and even that small motion made his arm ache horribly, but he paid it no mind.

“I know what we have to do,” he said, squeezing Keith’s shoulder. “Can you keep that thing’s hands away from its eye?”

Keith blinked at him, his mouth dropping open a bit, and then his expression changed, some of the fiery determination Lance had seen before returning to his eyes as he gave Lance a curt nod. He stood back up, pulling Lance with him, and squeezed Lance’s hand for a heartbeat before letting go and turning towards their attacker.

Keith rushed towards the robot, catching its attention but staying just out of reach as it lunged for him. With it distracted, Lance raised his blaster, breathing out slowly as he focused in on the robot’s eye. He managed to score a hit on it and the robot recoiled, holding both metallic arms over its face as its eye crackled with electricity.

Keith lunged forward again, but this time the robot merely kicked at him, refusing to lower its hands from its face.

“Come on,” Lance muttered, keeping his blaster trained on it. He wasn’t sure how much longer they had before the thing’s cannon was charged again, but they were running out of time.

Keith seemed to be thinking the same thing, and his movements became more daring as he darted closer and closer in the hopes of getting the robot to lower its guard, even as Lance yelled at him to be careful.

The robot finally took the bait, slamming both of its fists down in front of it in an attack that Keith barely managed to dodge, with ripples of water radiating out from around the attack. Lance took another shot, and another, and both hit their mark, but the robot remained standing and quickly drew one of its arms up to shield itself.

Lance cursed under his breath. Exhaustion was weighing heavily on him, and it was becoming harder and harder to stand. Keith let out a yell of frustration and ran towards the robot again, and Lance felt his blood run cold.

“Keith, _stop!”_ he yelled, but it was too late. The robot swiped at Keith in a heavy blow that knocked Keith into the wall of the cavern, where he slumped down and lay motionless.

 _“Keith!”_ Lance yelled, panic gripping him as he took a step forward. The robot turned to face him and Lance stumbled backward, firing at its eye, but without Keith there to distract it, it was able to block the shots easily. A circle of light flashed around its eye, steadily growing brighter as the air around Lance hummed with electricity, and he gritted his teeth. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to hold off another attack like that. He kept his blaster raised, narrowing his eyes. If he was going down, he was going down swinging.

“Hey, ugly!” a voice yelled, just as a small object that looked suspiciously like a boot bounced off the side of the robot’s head. The robot turned towards the sound, giving Lance the distraction he needed. He breathed out and pulled the trigger.

The shot hit its mark. Electricity crackled around the robot’s eye again, but the glow around it didn’t fade, instead burning brighter. Cracks of light split down the robot’s body as the built-up energy searched for an outlet, and Lance quickly stumbled backwards, shielding his eyes with his arm as the cavern filled with light. Lance felt the explosion as much as he heard it, the cavern shaking beneath him with enough force to knock him off his feet.

When he opened his eyes again, the robot was gone, a few scraps of metal in its place serving as the only reminder that it had ever been there at all. Most of what remained of the cavern ceiling had caved in as well, and as Lance watched, more chunks of the dark violet rock fell into the shallow water below.

He unsteadily pulled himself to his feet, taking a step forward.

“Keith,” he tried to yell, but his voice came out as barely more than a whisper. He scanned the cavern, panic threatening to spill over before he caught sight of movement near the wall.

Keith stepped toward the center of the cavern and Lance quickly looked him over, his panic subsiding a bit as he realized that Keith seemed relatively unharmed. Lance let out a huff of breath, wiping the back of his hand against his forehead. Now that the adrenaline was starting to fade, his muscles began to feel like molten lead, and he wasn’t sure how he was still standing.

Keith turned toward him, a streak of moonlight falling across his face, illuminating the concern that tightened his brow.

“We did it,” Lance said with a grin, relief making his voice sound giddy. “Hey, we make a pretty good team.”

Keith blinked in surprise, his features softening, and for the first time, Lance saw Keith smile.

Then everything went dark.

 

 

Lieutenant Haxus made his way across the Galra battleship swiftly, dipping his head as he passed other officers in the dimly lit hallways of the ship. He came to a stop in front of the command center, pressing his palm against the door panel, and the door slid open with a whir.

The command center was a large, dark, windowless room, framed on three sides by large computer screens, some of which connected to security cameras on the ship. In the center of the room stood a lone figure, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, rows of screens illuminating his silhouette.

“Commander Sendak.” Haxus kneeled down, clasping his hand over his heart and dipping his head. “You wanted to see me?”

Sendak did nothing to acknowledge Haxus’s presence, remaining focused on the many screens that lined the room with his back to the door.

“We’ve received a transmission from a Galra fleet in sector 812,” Sendak said finally, his voice deep and raspy.

“812,” the lieutenant echoed, standing up. “Nexlii? But there hasn’t been a Galra fleet there in years. The last one there was destroyed in a rebel skirmish years ago.”

“Not entirely.” Sendak finally turned to face him, his large, bat-like ears casting a shadow over his face from the light of the computer screens. “One of the sentinels survived and was recently awakened. It sent a video transmission before it was destroyed.”

“Destroyed? By what?”

Sendak gestured towards one of the screens. “See for yourself.”

Haxus stepped towards the screen, his footsteps echoing against the metal floor.

“Impossible,” Haxus murmured. But the figure on screen’s features were unmistakable— snowy white hair, pointed ears, with small, light blue crescents beneath their eyes. “An Altean?” He turned back to face Sendak. “What does this mean?”

“It means,” Sendak said, baring his teeth in a sinister smile, “that we’re going to pay a visit to sector 812.”

 

 

Lance still hadn’t woken up by the time Keith docked the ship in the hangar of the station.

Keith sighed as he unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, making his way back to the cargo hull. Between the fight with the sentinel and the trek back to the ship, his entire body felt bruised and exhausted, and his leg still exploded with pain every time he put weight on it. But he’d survive. He’d been through worse.

Lance was lying on one of the fold-out makeshift beds in the cargo hull, with Keith’s jacket draped over him.

“Just can’t make this easy on me, can you?” Keith sighed, poking Lance’s cheek. He swallowed down the worry that threatened to spill over and scooped Lance up, carrying him out of the ship and toward the med bay at the back of the hangar.

The nurse there assured Keith that Lance would be fine, that he was just exhausted and that he’d no doubt be up and about within a few hours. She had made a face when Keith tried to limp out of the med bay, and she only allowed him to leave when he promised he’d come back after checking up on something.

Keith leaned against the doorframe of his and Lance’s room, easing some of the pressure on his leg before he made his way to his desk. He pulled open one of the drawers and reached in, taking out the small radio from where it was taped to the top of the drawer. The red light on the side of it was blinking, and Keith sighed, pressing the round button on the center. A small, light blue holographic screen lit up in front of him.

It was blank for a moment before a ripple of static passed over it and a face appeared onscreen.

“Kolivan,” Keith said. Kolivan returned the greeting, his face hardened into the emotionless mask Keith had grown so used to.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much time,” Kolivan said, his voice distorted by static. “Our scouts have picked up reports of unscheduled Galra activity near your location.”

Keith tensed, narrowing his eyes. “Should I leave?”

Kolivan remained silent for a moment. “No,” he said finally. “Keep trying to find out how much the Garrison knows. The fleet is still a few days from your location, I’ll send a warning if they get closer.”

Keith dipped his head in acknowledgement.

“Remain vigilant,” Kolivan said, fixing Keith with a piercing stare. “Don’t let your guard down, and don't lose sight of the mission.” He hesitated a moment, then added, “Good luck.”

The screen flickered for a moment before disappearing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeyyy I know it's been a while since this updated, it's just been pretty hectic for me these last few months between moving, having my computer break down, and just... life in general lol. But on the bright side, this chapter is longer than the first two combined, so I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Thank you so much to [Brigid](https://https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstinspace) for beta-ing this for me!!! ily <3

The nightmares were becoming more frequent.

When Keith opened his eyes, he was standing outside of the Garrison station with the cool morning breeze whipping at his hair and clothes. The morning light bathed the scene in a hazy golden glow, but Keith couldn’t shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong.

The ground shuddered beneath his feet, followed by a low, threatening hum. A large shadow fell over the ground, slowly creeping towards the Garrison station.

Keith turned his gaze towards the sky and his blood ran cold.

Lines of massive ebony starships blotted out the sun, the largest fleet Keith had ever seen. And there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop them.

Keith charged towards the station, but no matter how far he ran, it remained just out of reach. The air around him prickled with electricity as sharp beams of light burst from the battleships’ cannons, ripping the sky in two. Keith screamed until his throat felt raw, but he couldn’t stop them. He couldn’t do anything. 

The ground beneath Keith’s feet was torn away, and everything faded to black.

When Keith lifted his head again, he found himself on board a Galra battleship. A towering figure stood a few paces away, their face obscured by shadow but their glowing gold eyes burning through the darkness. When they spoke, their voice seemed to come from everywhere.

_ There is nowhere you can go that I won’t find you. _

Keith took a step back, his heart pounding against his chest. Cruel laughter echoed around him as an invisible force slammed into him, pushing him back.

The scene shifted, and Keith was standing in a line of Galra soldiers. He looked down to find a blaster in his hands and the Galra Empire insignia printed on the chest plate of the armor he was wearing.

_ No,  _ he tried to scream, but his voice remained silent, and his feet marched forward against his will.

_ You can’t outrun who you are,  _ the voice continued. _ It is your destiny to destroy everything you touch. _

“Get out of my head!” Keith snarled, finally breaking himself out of the trance, the blaster slipping from his hands as he fell backwards. For a moment he was left plummeting into darkness, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

When he finally dared to open them, he was standing back in the hallways of the Garrison station. But his momentary relief dissipated as a shot rang out, and he narrowly managed to duck beneath the laser blast aimed at his head. He reached for the dagger hidden in his jacket and it transformed into a curved ebony sword in his grip. A second shot rang out and Keith swung the blade in front of him, blocking the blast before charging forwards in pursuit of his attacker.

He rounded the corner of the hall to find himself face-to-face with dozens of robotic Galra sentries, and he cursed under his breath, quickly embedding his blade in the chest of the nearest sentry. He ducked back behind the corner for  cover as the rest of the sentries opened fire, but the adjacent hallway was already filled with a second onslaught of sentries, effectively blocking off his escape route. He lunged forward with a snarl, slicing the first robot in half before slamming the hilt of his blade against the second’s head. He dodged around as many attacks he could as he steadily cut through lines of sentries, but no matter how many he took out, their numbers never seemed to dwindle.

“Keith!” a familiar voice called out.

“Lance?” Keith called back. “Where are you?”

_ “Keith!”  _ Lance said again, his voice becoming more urgent.

“I’m coming!” Keith yelled, letting out a growl of frustration as he sliced at the sentries blocking his path. “Just— hold on!” But for every sentry he cut down, five more seemed to take its place, leaving Keith stranded in the midst of a sea of metal and laser fire.

“Keith, wake up!”

_ What? _

Keith blinked, the scene before him distorting as something shook him awake.

He opened his eyes and heard someone breathe in sharply. The weight on his shoulders disappeared.

“…Keith?” a familiar voice asked, but it sounded strange; uncertain.

Keith looked up. Lance was standing near the edge of Keith’s bed, but everything about his posture and expression was off. He looked…  _ scared,  _ with his eyes wide, his brows furrowed, and his hands clutched close to his chest.

“What’s wrong?” Keith asked, leaning forward. Panic swelled in his chest as he tried to put together how much of what had just happened had been a dream and how much had been real.

“You—” Lance hesitated, looking away and biting his lip. “Noth—nothing,” he said finally. “You just… you were having a nightmare.”

“Oh,” Keith said, leaning back a bit. There was something else bothering him, something that didn’t feel right, but his mind was too foggy for him to put together what it was.

He was so  _ tired.  _ He felt like he hadn’t gotten any sleep at all.

“Time ’s it?” he mumbled, sinking back into the sheets.

“Half past one.”

Keith hummed in acknowledgement, rolling onto his side and covering his ears with his blanket.

“Hey, Keith?” Lance asked after a moment, his voice sounding small and strained.

“Mm?”

“Can I trust you?”

Something in the back of Keith’s warned him that that was an odd question, that he was missing something important, but he was too tired to make sense of it.

“Mmhm.”

“Okay,” Lance said quietly, as Keith’s eyes slipped closed and the world faded into nothing.

\---

The video on Lance’s tablet played silently as he waited outside of Commander Shirogane’s office.

It had been two nights since he and Keith had set out on the fateful scouting mission, and Lance felt as though the foundation of his world had been shaken, and that now there was no going back.

Lance’s hands tightened around the tablet as the camera swept over the side of the dark alien starship, lingering on the strange insignia printed on it. Even now, with the entire planet between Lance and the ship, he couldn’t stop the chill that ran down his spine.

The camera shifted to Keith, and Lance’s unease grew.

“Who are you?” Lance muttered under his breath.

“Lance?”

Lance jolted at the sound of his name, his head snapping towards the voice.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Commander Shirogane said with an apologetic smile. “You said there was something you needed to show me?”

“I— yeah.” Lance cleared his throat, quickly standing from the bench and trying to regain his composure.

Commander Shirogane nodded, motioning for Lance to follow as he retreated back into his office.

Commander Shirogane was a tall, broad man with an equally large presence. He had slick black hair with a shock of white running through it and a prosthetic right arm that Lance knew came as a result of the Kerberos mission accident. Lance had looked up to Shiro for years; even before Lance had met him, Shiro had been his personal hero, and Shiro’s accomplishments were what had convinced Lance to try to join the Galaxy Garrison in the first place.

Now that Lance knew Shiro personally, his respect had only grown. Shiro was one of the few high-ranking officials in the Garrison that treated everyone with respect, regardless of their rank, and that was what had driven Lance to seek him out now.

But now that he was here, Lance found himself hesitating.

Shiro took a seat behind his desk, motioning for Lance to sit across from him before raising his eyebrows expectantly.

Lance’s gaze fell back down to the tablet in his hands. The video had ended, leaving nothing but a black screen with a circular replay button in the center. Lance bit his lip, then quickly swiped his finger across the screen before he turned it around to face Shiro.

“We found some kind of weird vine thing while we were out on the scouting mission,” Lance said. “And we also found these big, skeletal bird-alien things that popped out of the ground, but I didn’t get any pictures of those because they were kinda trying to kill us. Which is how Keith hurt his leg, and how we found the vines. Sir. Commander Shirogane.” Lance grimaced as he finished, waiting for Shiro to ask him to get Keith to confirm his story, or worse, to dismiss it entirely.

“I see,” Shiro said, leaning forward to get a better look at the image on Lance’s tablet and rubbing his hand over his mouth. “Thank you for bringing this to me. I’ll let the higher ups know and send out a warning to stay away from the area until we know what we’re dealing with. Can you send that photo to the research lab?”

Lance stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words. “Yeah, of course,” he finally managed to say. “Sir. Commander Shirogane.”

Shiro smirked in amusement. “Just Shiro’s fine. Is there anything else?”

Lance hesitated, tapping his fingers against the side of the tablet as he looked away. “No,” he lied. “That’s everything. Thanks, Shiro.” Lance sent him a grin before standing up and leaving. The door to the office slid closed behind him.

“Ah, man,” he muttered, clutching the tablet to his chest and staring at the ground as he walked away. “What am I  _ doing?” _

\---

It had been two days since Keith had last heard from Kolivan. To say that he was on edge would be an understatement.

To make things worse, his nightmares were becoming unrelenting, leaving him sleep deprived and unable to escape the possibility of a Galra invasion even while asleep.

And on top of everything else, Lance had been giving him these weird…  _ looks  _ lately. Keith couldn’t count how many times he’d turned to find Lance watching him, only for Lance to quickly drop his gaze when he realized he’d been caught. But Keith wasn’t sure if that was actually something he should be worried about or if he was just being paranoid, and he had enough to worry about already, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

It was half past nine when Keith finally made it back to his and Lance’s shared room. Knowing that Lance had the night shift in the observatory, Keith pulled the small radio out of the top drawer of his desk, his pulse quickening as he saw the red light on the side blinking. He took a deep breath to compose himself, his thumb hovering over the button in the center.

He was just about to press it when the door behind him slid open.

Keith whirled around, hastily stuffing the radio into his pocket. Lance mumbled a quick greeting as he entered the room, one arm wrapped precariously around a messy stack of papers and his badge in his other hand.

“I thought you had the night shift,” Keith said, trying to keep his voice casual, his fingers tightening around the radio in his pocket.

“Nah, Kinkade offered to cover for me,” Lance said, sitting on the edge of his bed and kicking his boots off. His brows furrowed as he finally met Keith’s gaze. “Hey, are you okay, man? No offense, but you look terrible.”

Keith frowned, stepping up to the mirror beside his bed. He  _ did  _ look bad. His skin was paler than normal, his black hair fell around his face in messy, unkempt clumps, and there were dark lines beneath his eyes. He sighed, rubbing his hand beneath his eye. “I’m fine. Just… haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

He turned back to find Lance giving him that…  _ look  _ again, with his head tilted slightly to the side as though he was trying to figure something out.

“I’m going to get some fresh air,” Keith said quickly, tugging on his jacket collar as he started for the door.

“Keith, wait.”

Keith’s pace faltered, and he turned to face Lance.

“You know you can talk to me, right?” Lance said quietly. “I mean, we’re like, space ranger partners now.” His mouth twitched into a small smile. “I know I don’t know you that well, but if something’s bothering you… I’m here, you know?”

Keith felt warmth bloom in his chest, and he gave Lance the best smile he could manage. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind.”

He turned back towards the door and his smile fell, the warmth in his chest fading into something cold and empty. His shoulders slumped and his gaze fell to the ground as he heard the door slide closed behind him.

\---

Keith was met with the cool night air as he stepped out onto the rooftops of the Garrison station. The moonlight reflected off of the surface of the metal platforms as the wind swept over them, tugging on the thin metal rods that towered over the station. Keith pulled the radio out of his pocket, taking a deep breath before tapping on the center button, and the florescent blue screen lit up in front of him.

The screen showed nothing but static.

Keith waited, growing more anxious by the second, but nothing cut through the flickering black and white pixels. He felt something cold settle in his chest and he let out the breath he had been holding, sinking down to his knees. What if the Empire had found their base? What if he was the only one left? What if he was the only thing standing between the Empire and—

Keith pressed the palms of his hands against his temples to try to break himself out of his spiral.

_ I can do this,  _ he assured himself.

But when he closed his eyes, all he could see was himself standing alone against the full force of the Galra Empire, with nothing but a sword at his side and the weight of the universe resting on his shoulders.

\---

Knowing what he had to do didn’t make it any easier.

Keith slumped against the wall in front of his and Lance’s room. He glared at the ground and rubbed his thumb over his index finger in concentration as he rehearsed the words he knew he had to say over and over in his mind until he felt like he could recite them by heart. A few cadets passed by in the hallway and gave him weird looks, but Keith was past the point of caring.

“Okay,” he said, standing up and pulling his badge out of his pocket, clenching his other hand into a fist. He could do this. He was a warrior, he made a living by staring death in the face, so he was definitely—

The door slid open in front of him and Keith’s courage dissipated like smoke.

—Definitely completely out of his element.

Lance didn’t look up as Keith entered, his cheek smushed into the palm of his hand as he sat on his bed with a laptop open in front of him, the light from the screen illuminating his face.

Keith stood awkwardly in the doorway, wringing his hands until Lance finally looked up, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Keith ducked his head and made his way towards his bed, fidgeting with the collar of his jacket.

He blinked. Lying on top of his pillow was a familiar headset, attached to a small radio-like object.

“What…”

“It’s a Walkman,” Lance said. Keith looked up and Lance gave him a small smile. “My mamá gave it to me because I used to have trouble sleeping. Too much noise in my head, you know? I thought maybe it’d help with your nightmares.”

Keith stared at him, his chest suddenly tight. “Are you sure it’s alright?” he asked quietly.

Lance waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. You need it more than I do, man. Just… be careful with it, alright?”

“Yeah,” Keith said. “Thank you.” He sat on the edge of his bed, picking at a loose thread on the sleeve of his jacket, unable to meet Lance’s gaze. “Lance… there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Hm?”

Keith bit his lip. He could see his hands shaking in front of him. “Well, it’s actually… it’s something I have to show you. Just promise me you won’t freak out or anything, okay? No matter what, I’m still me.”

“Oh,” Lance said quietly. “Okay.”

Keith closed his eyes, holding his breath. He felt a tingling sensation beneath his skin that spread to the surface, and his hands twitched slightly as he felt like something had pricked his fingertips. When he opened his eyes, the room seemed lighter, the skin on his hands had turned into a deep lilac color, and his fingernails had transformed into sharp claws.

Lance, to his credit, didn’t freak out. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all, and Keith couldn’t bring himself to look up to gauge his reaction.

“I’m not human,” Keith said. “I’m Galra. And I’m not— I’m not the only one. There are others like me, but most of them aren’t good people. They’re dangerous. But no matter what happens, I need you to know that I’m on your side.”

“No matter what happens?” Lance repeated slowly. “What’s going to happen?”

“I’m…” Keith clenched his hands into fists. “I’m not supposed to say. I’m not technically supposed to tell you any of this.” He sighed, dipping his head even more. “Hopefully nothing. Hopefully I’m just overreacting. But if I’m not… I need you to trust me. That’s why I had to tell you the truth.”

“Alright.”

Keith finally looked up, blinking at Lance incredulously. “‘Alright’? That’s it? But I’m—”

“You’re still Keith,” Lance interrupted. “You’re still just my annoying, know-it-all roommate who thinks he’s better than everyone else just because he’s got cool hair and can fly a starship like nobody’s business.” Lance gave Keith a teasing smile, and some of the tension in Keith’s shoulders fell away.

“You’re still my friend,” Lance continued, his tone becoming more sober. “You saved my life what, like, five times in the span of a single day, and more importantly, you didn’t rat me out when you caught me putting gum on Iverson’s chair.”

“How is that more important—”

“The point is, like you said, you’re still just you. Like, okay, admittedly, finding out that my roommate is secretly a purple alien with giant fuzzy ears and glowy yellow eyes is a bit of a shock, and I don’t know you that well, but… I know enough. I know that you’re a good guy, and that’s enough for me.”

“You… don’t seem very surprised about all this.”

Lance grinned at him sheepishly. “No offense, man, but you’re not really great at keeping secrets.”

“You knew? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Lance shrugged. “I don’t know, I figured you’d tell me when you were ready if you wanted me to know.”

“Oh,” Keith said. Silence fell between them for a moment, then Keith looked up again, a smirk forming on his lips. “You think my hair’s cool?”

Lance blinked at him, his mouth dropping open and his face steadily growing redder. “I— I never said that.”

“You did so.”

“Nope. Nuh uh. Don’t remember, didn’t happen.” Lance crossed his arms over his chest indignantly.

Keith shook his head, but he couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice. “You’re impossible.”

“Impossibly handsome?” Lance asked with a wink.

Keith felt his face heat up and he looked away, pretending to consider it. “I guess,” he said with a noncommittal shrug, before meeting Lance’s gaze and smirking.

Lance’s face immediately flushed bright red and he looked away, covering his face with his hands and muttering something that sounded like “oh my god.”

Keith allowed himself a small self-satisfied smile, then pulled his legs up on the bed and picked up Lance’s Walkman from where it rested near his pillow. For a moment, he considered trying to give it back, but the possibility of getting a good night’s rest convinced him to hang on to it. He sunk down into his bed, pulling the covers up to his chest and slipping the headset over his ears. He closed his eyes as soft, upbeat music started to play.

He was still on edge, and he doubted that anything short of the complete dismantling of the Galra Empire would be able to fix that, but it was as though a weight had been lifted off of his chest, making it easier to breathe.

For the first time, he didn’t feel so… alone.

He’d had Kolivan and the rest of the Blade of Marmora, of course, but he knew he’d never be anything more than a means to an end to them. And before that… Keith didn’t want to think about that.

This felt different.

Keith rolled over so that he was facing the wall, clutching the Walkman close to his chest and trying to push away the worries that constantly threatened to spill over and consume him.  _ Whatever comes, I can handle it. Everything will work out okay,  _ he told himself.

And for the first time, he thought that maybe he believed it.

\---

Commander Sendak stepped up to the dimly lit bridge of the Galra battleship, his hands clasped neatly behind his back. A small, dark violet planet covered by thin magenta lines that crossed over each other in a web-like fashion hung suspended in the darkness beyond the windows of the ship. 

Sendak’s mouth pulled into a scowl as he reached the upper deck of the bridge. Since he’d received the transmission from the sentinel during a mission, he had only been able to bring a single battleship and its crew with him to Nexlii. It was much less than he’d like, but he couldn’t afford to wait for reinforcements and risk allowing the Altean to escape.

“Commander,” Lieutenant Haxus greeted him, dipping his head before going to stand at Sendak’s side. “What’s our plan of action?”

“Contact the station on the planet.”

Haxus blinked at him, his eyes widening in surprise. “Sir?”

“As much as I’d love to go in and burn the planet to the ground, with our numbers, a full-on assault is too risky. We don’t know what kind of weapons this station has.” Sendak took a step towards the edge of the deck, unclasping his hands and gripping the railing. “Besides, the last thing we need is to provoke another planet into raising its flag and joining the rebellion.”

Haxus gave a curt nod, starting towards the stairwell at the edge of the deck. “I’ll shut down the signal jammer around the planet and contact the station right away.”

“Haxus. One more thing.”

Haxus paused, turning back to face Sendak.

“Emperor Zarkon would prefer the Altean be captured alive, but you know what’s at stake here. If he tries to resist…” Sendak’s lips curled, baring his teeth. “Kill him, and anyone else that gets in your way.”

\---

Lance drummed his fingers against his desk as he gazed out of the observatory windows, half listening as Iverson launched into another tirade as the fifth radio test ended in failure. Communications had been down for a day and a half, leaving the station unable to contact Earth, which was setting everyone on edge.

Lance sighed, dialing in the Garrison access codes on his computer for the sixth time as Iverson called for another test. The rest of the crew working in the observatory let out a resounding groan, and Lance couldn’t blame them; they’d been stuck up here for the last few hours and had nothing to show for it. Lance propped his head on his hands, his hopes of getting out before dark fading as the sun began to dip beneath the horizon.

“Sir, I think we have something,” one of the cadets announced, and Lance glanced over his shoulder briefly before reaching for the headset tucked away behind his computer. “We’re receiving a transmission. But it’s… it’s not from Earth.”

“Put it through,” Iverson demanded.

“Yessir.” The cadet tapped a button on their keyboard and a crackle of static echoed around the room. A few moments passed, then a deep, rough voice cut through the static.

_ “My name is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire.” _

Lance froze, the headset he had been reaching for slipping from his hands and clattering against the desk.

_ “My associates and I are in pursuit of a shape-shifting fugitive. We have reason to believe he has taken refuge on this planet, and request that you allow us to search your station. If you do not comply, you will be labeled as accomplices and dealt with as such.” _

Iverson snorted. “You can’t honestly expect me to believe—” His words were cut off as a shadow fell over the observatory.

Lance slowly looked up to the windows, his heart pounding against his throat.

Just beyond the observatory lay a massive dark ebony starship, the same ship Lance had seen before on the other side of the planet, the same ship that had started to haunt his nightmares.

But unlike the other ship, this one was still in full commission.

Lance stood up before he realized what he was doing, running toward the door with a single thought echoing through his mind.

He had to find Keith.

\---

Lance was breathless by the time he made it back to his dorm, and he cursed silently as he found it empty. He mentally ran through a list of all the places Keith could be at this time of night as he dashed back down the hall, so engrossed in his thoughts that he nearly ran into Shiro as he rounded the corner.

“Whoa, what’s the rush?” Shiro asked, sidestepping out of Lance’s path.

“Shiro, do you know where Keith is?”

Shiro frowned, his brows furrowing at Lance’s tone. “I think he was assigned to a scouting mission.”

“Dammit,” Lance muttered. “Do you know when he’s getting back?”

Before Shiro could answer, a booming voice cut in over the station intercom.

_ “All personnel report to the hangar immediately.” _

Lance took a few steps back, a rough, desperate plan beginning to form in his mind.

“Lance, what’s going on?” Shiro demanded, but Lance could only shake his head in response before he turned away. He sprinted down the hall in the opposite direction of the hangar, his heart pounding against his chest, not answering when Shiro called after him.

Lance’s progress was stalled as swarms of people flooded the hallways, whispering to each other in confusion. He hastily weaved his way through the crowd, muttering a rushed apology every time he accidentally slammed into someone and ignoring the strange looks people gave him. He had almost made it to the end of the hall when the station alarms went off, filling the hallways with red light and deafening sirens.

The crowd began to thin as Lance reached the supply room, and he broke into a run as he crossed the rest of the distance to the armory. He unlocked the door with his badge and it slid open with a metallic whir. Dull blue fluorescent lights flickered on overhead, illuminating the small supply shed. Lance’s eyes flitted over the lines of blasters before they landed on a pair of small, arc-shaped laser pistols lying on the table at the back of the shed, and he quickly snatched them up, tucking one under each side of his jacket and clipping them to his belt.

By the time Lance returned to the hallway, the alarms had fallen silent, leaving the station eerily quiet. His footsteps echoed along the empty corridors as he made his way to the elevator, and with every step he took his sense of unease grew.

He stepped onto the elevator and tapped on the button for the second floor, then leaned against the metal walls as the elevator made its descent. When the doors slid open again, Lance sucked in a deep breath before he started making his way down the familiar corridor. He slowed down and kept low to the ground as he rounded a corner, staying as quiet as possible as he crept out towards the deck overlooking the hangar.

“Is this everyone?” a loud, gruff voice demanded, and Lance recognized it as the Galra commander who had contacted the station.

“There’s still the crew of a scouting mission, but they should be getting back any minute,” Iverson’s voice responded.

Lance lowered himself down onto his hands and knees, slowly inching towards the edge of the deck and peering down at the scene below.

Iverson and the staff of the Garrison station stood facing the Galra commander, a tall alien with violet skin, large, bat-like ears, a bright crimson robotic left eye, and a face that seemed to be etched into a permanent scowl. He was backed by a legion of a few Galra warriors, hundreds of robotic soldiers, and a few drones that hovered in the air over the army.

“We’re not leaving until we have what we came for,” the Galra commander growled before he turned to address his legion. “Search every corner of this station.”

Iverson’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, but as the swarm of robotic sentries began marching through the station, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

The triangular Galra drones rose into the air, blue light emanating from them as they scanned the upper deck. Lance quickly scrambled backward, barely managing to duck behind the wall just before the light passed over it.

He leaned back, running his hand through his hair as he weighed his options. There weren’t many; attacking the Galra would be futile and would put the rest of the staff in danger, and his chances of making it out of the station without being spotted were slim to none. But if he made it back to the observatory, he might be able to contact Keith and warn him before it was too late. That was, of course, assuming that the station’s communication system was online. It was a long shot, but it was the only plan he had, and he was running out of time.

Lance waited until the drone was out of sight before he started back down the hallway, deciding that taking the stairwell was his best bet. It would take more time and give the Galra the chance to get ahead of him, but trying to get to the elevators while the station was crawling with sentries would be too risky.

There were already a few sentries patrolling the halls near the stairwell by the time Lance got there, and he took care to slip by them undetected before he began the steep trek up to the observatory. But he had only made it halfway to the fourth floor when he rounded the corner to find himself staring down the barrel of a blaster.

“Whoa,” he said, taking a step back and quickly raising his hands in surrender. “I come in peace?”

The owner of the blaster, a faceless Galra sentry, motioned for Lance to start walking back down the stairwell. He complied with a reluctant sigh, keeping his hands raised and biting the inside of his cheek.

_ Great,  _ he thought bitterly,  _ now what? _

The Galra sentry steered him towards the elevator on the third floor, and Lance kept his head lowered, trying to formulate a plan to escape.

A loud, metallic crash sounded from the adjacent hallway, and Lance looked up just in time to see what remained of a Galra sentry slam into the wall before landing in a motionless heap on the ground, electricity sparking from a deep cut in its chest.

The sentry following Lance shoved him aside roughly enough to knock him off balance, and Lance slumped against the wall. Quick footsteps echoed down the adjacent hallway, and the sentry stepped forward, raising its blaster.

Keith appeared from behind the corner, his eyes widening in surprise as he found himself face to face with a Galra sentry. Lance’s heart leapt to his throat, time seemed to slow, and a single shot rang out.

For a moment, everything was still. Then the sentry slowly started to lean to the left, its blaster slipping from its hands as it finally fell, electricity sparking from the hole the laser blast had left in its head.

Lance tucked his pistol back under his jacket as Keith crossed the distance between them, offering Lance his hand.

“You have to get out of here. They’re after you,” Lance said urgently. Keith blinked at him, his brows pulling together as he shook his head.

“It’s not me they’re after.”

Lance stared at him blankly. “Uh, what? Dude, they’re looking for a shape-shifting alien. Who else could that be?”

Keith ignored his question, instead grabbing Lance’s hand and pulling him up. “We need to get to the hangar,” he said, releasing Lance and starting towards the stairwell.

“The hangar?” Lance repeated incredulously. “That’s, like, the last place we wanna be right now.”

“We have to get out of here, and we’ll never escape them on foot.”

“We need a ship?”

“Something like that.”

“How are we supposed to get past— wait, how did you even get through there in the first place?”

Keith glanced back, quirking an eyebrow at him. “I walked past? Then slipped away when they weren’t paying attention.”

“With an entire  _ army _ looking for you?”

“I told you, it’s not me they’re after.”

“Why are we running from them if they’re not—” Lance breathed in sharply as realization clicked into place. “ _ Me? _ Why would they be after—” He was cut off as Keith spun around, clamping his hand over Lance’s mouth. Lance sent Keith a glare but stilled as the sound of metallic footsteps echoed from a neighboring hallway.

“I’ll explain everything later, right now just shut up and trust me, alright?” Keith pulled his hand away as the footsteps faded into the distance, then started off again without waiting for a response.

Lance had to jog to catch up, and he followed Keith for a while in silence. But his mind was buzzing with too many questions and not enough answers, and the silence was starting to feel suffocating, so it wasn’t long before he blurted out the first thing he could think of.

“Speaking of shape-shifting aliens,” he started, ignoring Keith’s huff of exasperation, “so, like, can all Galra shapeshift?”

“No. Only me.”

Lance frowned, tilting his head. “And… you don’t find that odd?”

“Never really thought about it,” Keith said shortly, in a tone that suggested that the conversation was over.

Lance let out a sigh of resignation, looking up as they passed through the residential hall. He hesitated as his eyes caught on the doors lining the corridor.

“What is it?” Keith asked, his pace slowing as he looked back.

“Is it alright if I pick something up?”

Keith frowned, quickly scanning the hallway. “Fine, but make it quick.”

Lance dipped his head in acknowledgment and jogged up to his and Keith’s shared room, unlocking the door. Keith followed after him, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest as Lance ducked inside.

Lance picked up his small dark blue messenger bag from where it lay near his bed and slung it over his shoulder, then clambered onto his bed and quickly unclipped the photos hanging on the board above it. He shuffled them into a stack before carefully tucking them into the bag, then jumped down and snatched his Walkman from where it rested on Keith’s desk before heading for the door.

“Ready?” Keith asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. Lance nodded and Keith pushed himself off of the door, starting back down the hall.

Keith and Lance walked the rest of the way down to the first floor in silence. When they drew close to the hangar, they slowed down and kept close to the walls.

“Alright, now what?” Lance whispered as he peered out into the hangar. The size of the army there had diminished, but the Galra commander, five of the Galra warriors, and about three dozen sentries remained, standing near the center of the hangar. “We’ll never make it to the ships without getting caught.”

“We don’t need a ship, we just need something fast.”

“How’re we gonna get out of here without a ship?”

“We have a ship.  _ My  _ ship. We’ll never be able to outrun them in one of those garbage heaps. But we need a way to get to it, and fast.”

Lance narrowed his eyes as he scanned over the lines of vehicles until his gaze landed on the small red hoverbike tucked away in the corner. “I think I know just the thing,” he said, nodding towards it.

Keith followed his gesture, and Lance thought he saw a small smirk form on Keith’s lips.

“How are we gonna get over there?” Lance asked.

“We make a run for it,” Keith said, taking a step forward.

“Whoa, hold up.” Lance held his arm out to bar Keith’s path. “These guys want to capture me, right? Maybe we can use that to our advantage.”

Keith’s eyes darkened, and he looked away, his lips pressing into a thin line. “They want you dead, one way or another. It would just be more... convenient for them if they can capture you first.”

“Oh,” Lance said, his voice cracking a bit. “Alright. Okay. Cool. Cool cool cool.”

“Lance, stop freaking out.”

“I’m not freaking out!” Lance said, his voice several octaves higher than normal. “I’m fine. Totally fine. Just, you know, an entire army of aliens out to kill me, no biggie. Man, what did I ever even  _ do _ to these guys?”

“You’re freaking out.”

“Totally not. Totally cool. Cool as a cucumber. Let’s do this.” Lance gave Keith a quick salute before he inched towards the edge of the hall.

“Count of three?” Keith asked.

Lance gave a curt nod, and Keith took a deep breath.

“One, two… three.”

Keith caught Lance’s arm as they entered the hangar, and they hurriedly skirted around the Garrison staff. Lance kept his head lowered, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. His heart pounded against his throat and he grabbed Keith’s hand, squeezing it as they made it to the front of the crowd.

_ Okay,  _ Lance thought, taking a deep, shaky breath.  _ We’re already a third of the way to the bike. We can do this. _

The air around Lance seemed to drop ten degrees, and he looked up just as the Galra commander’s eyes locked with his.

All at once, the hangar fell into chaos. Keith lurched forward, dragging Lance with him as the Galra commander yelled something that was quickly drowned out by the sound of laser fire.

“Forget the bike, the garbage will do,” Keith growled, pulling Lance onto the nearest transport vehicle, which was little more than a moving platform with railings and a control panel. Keith and Lance ducked behind the panel to shield themselves from the incoming fire as Keith hastily ran through the startup procedures, but the screen remained dark.

Keith cursed, slamming his fist against the panel. “They must have the vehicles on lockdown.”

Lance unclipped one of his blasters from his belt and aimed it over the side of the panel, shooting down the nearest sentries and stunning one of the Galra warriors. “I don’t think they can lock down the bike,” he said, quickly ducking back behind the panel as a laser blast grazed the edge of it. “I’ve been able to take it out after hours before.”

“After them!” the Galra commander’s booming voice commanded, and Keith and Lance leapt off of the transport. Keith grabbed Lance’s hand again as they sprinted towards the bike, using the rest of the transport vehicles lining the side of the hangar as cover. Lance used his free hand to shoot down any sentries that tried to follow them.

Only three more transports stood between them and the bike. They were so close—

Lance glanced back over his shoulder, stunning another Galra warrior as they leapt over one of the transports and lunged for him. Keith stopped dead in his tracks, and Lance nearly lost his balance as he ran into him.

In front of them stood the Galra commander, his mouth pulled into a furious snarl, his natural and mechanical eyes glowing gold and crimson in the dim light. He towered a few feet over them, and up close Lance could see that his left forearm was mechanical, connected to his shoulder by a crackling beam of glowing violet light.

Keith fell into a defensive stance, his ebony sword appearing in his hand in a flash of light, and he used his free hand to push Lance behind him protectively.

“Out of my way, human,” the Galra commander snarled, taking a step forward.

“I’m no human,” Keith said, and even from where Lance stood, he could see Keith’s appearance shift. Keith’s ears became large and catlike, the tips of his black hair became tinted with dark magenta, and the skin on his hands turned a deep lilac color. “I’m here under orders from the Emperor himself, and you’re interfering.”

The Galra commander’s natural eye widened before narrowing into a slit. “You don’t honestly expect me to believe that, do you? I know what you are. You’re nothing but a disgrace to your own blood.”

“Worth a shot,” Keith muttered, and Lance felt him squeeze his hand. “I’ll hold him off,” Keith said, quietly enough that only Lance could hear. “Get out of here. My ship is—”

“Forget it,” Lance snapped before Keith could finish. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Lance—” Keith started, but cut himself off as the Galra commander lunged for them. Lance yanked Keith to the side as the commander’s mechanical fist slammed into the ground.  The commander swung at Keith again, and Keith was barely able to block the blow on the blade of his sword, leaving the two of them locked in a battle of strength that Lance knew Keith couldn’t win. Lance aimed his blaster at the commander, but before he could pull the trigger, he heard a click and felt something cold settle against the back of his neck.

“Don’t move,” a voice behind him commanded, and Lance glanced over his shoulder just enough to recognize one of the Galra warriors standing behind him with a blaster aimed at him. Lance gritted his teeth. He could see Keith’s strength failing. If he didn’t do something—

A shot rang out and the Galra behind Lance yelped in surprise. The weight at the back of Lance’s neck disappeared and he quickly swung around, setting his blaster to stun as he aimed a shot at the Galra’s chest. He turned back just as another shot crossed the hangar and connected with the Galra commander’s shoulder, and the commander let out a cry of pain, his strength faltering enough for Keith to throw him off.

The Galra commander whirled on his attacker, and Lance followed his gaze to Shiro, who was standing in the center of the hangar with a crumpled Galra sentry at his feet and its gun in his hands.

“How  _ dare  _ you—” the Galra commander snarled, and Keith used the momentary distraction to dash towards Lance and pull him towards the bike. “ _ No!  _ Don’t let them get away!” the commander’s voice howled.

“What about Shiro? What about everyone else?” Lance demanded.

“The best thing we can do for them is to get out of here and lead the Galra away from them,” Keith said. He quickly hoisted himself over the side of the bike and Lance followed, cursing how despite everything his cheeks grew warm as he wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist. The engine rumbled to life and the bike shot forward, then swung sharply left between the hangar doors as the Galra commander’s cry of outrage echoed through the hangar.

Lance looked over his shoulder as the bike sped away from the hangar, leaving clouds of displaced sand in its wake. The wind ripped at his hair and clothes as the bike flew across the violet landscape. “Oh, man,” he said, his voice sounding hoarse. “We— we actually made it.”

“Don’t get cocky,” Keith said, his voice muffled by the hum of the engine. “We’re not out of this yet.”

Lance shifted his gaze towards the sky, where the Galra battleship hung silhouetted by moonlight, and shivered. He flinched as a beam of light flew past him, narrowly missing his shoulder, and Keith cursed and jerked the bike to the right. Several more laser blasts trailed after the bike, scorching the ground and ricocheting off of the crystal towers that dotted the landscape. Lance glanced over his shoulder and found several Galra drones hovering in the air behind them.

Lance gritted his teeth and carefully swung his legs over the bike so that he was facing backwards, then unclipped one of the blasters from his belt, using his other hand to keep himself steady. He fired at the drones in quick succession and three of the shots hit their mark, sending the small, triangle-shaped drones careening to the ground in smoke.  The bike lurched to the left beneath him to avoid the return fire and Lance let out a shriek as he felt himself slipping off of it, but before he could fall, he felt something grab the collar of his jacket and pull him back.

“Thanks,” he said sheepishly, steadying himself. Keith merely grunted in response.

Lance raised his blaster again and shot down two more of the drones, but his attention shifted as the dark battleship started moving towards them. Several smaller ships broke off from it, heading towards them in a swarm.

“Uh, Keith?”

“I see them,” Keith growled. “Hold on.”

Lance shot down the remaining drones and turned back in his seat, hugging Keith’s waist as the bike picked up speed. He blinked.

“Keith.”

“Yeah?”

“Is that a cliff in front of us?”

“Yup.” Keith’s wrist dipped forward on the handle and the bike shot forward.

_ “Are you out of your mind!?” _

“Just shut up and trust me!”

The air around them filled with the deafening roar of a hundred engines, and Lance looked back as the swarm of Galra ships descended on them. He unwrapped one arm from Keith’s waist and aimed his blaster at the ships tailing them, but the shots flicked off of them as harmlessly as rain against a windshield.

Lance lowered his blaster, sucking in a deep breath. “Sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Yeah, me too,” Keith said, his voice barely audible above the noise.

Lance’s arms tightened around Keith and he buried his face against the back of Keith’s shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut as the bike plummeted off the side of the cliff.

He heard the hum of the Galra ships passing above them over the rush of wind against his ears and dared to open his eyes, instantly regretting it. The ground beneath them was drawing closer and closer and Lance let out a bloodcurdling scream, his nails digging into the hem of Keith’s jacket as he braced himself for the bike to slam into the ground. But right at the last moment, their momentum shifted as Keith wrenched the controls upward, pulling the bike level with the ground.

“Are we dead yet?” Lance asked, his voice cracking.

“Not yet. Can you stop trying to break me in half?”

“Sorry,” Lance mumbled, loosening his grip around Keith’s waist. He turned his gaze skyward, watching as the Galra ships flew over the edge of the cliff like a flock of giant mechanical birds.

Keith steered the bike to the right, heading to where the cliff face merged into a steep ravine. He slowed the bike as they entered the ravine, and Lance let his eyes trail up the steep, rocky cliffs that surrounded them. The only sound came from the echoing hum of the engine and the eerie, distant sound of wind passing over the tip of the ravine.

“Think we lost them?” Lance asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“Hope so.” Keith pulled the bike to a stop as the ravine grew narrower. “We’ll have to continue on foot from here.” He cut the engine and Lance untangled his arms from around Keith’s waist, his ears ringing as he quickly ran his hands through his wind tousled hair.

Keith hoisted himself off of the bike and pulled a small mechanical disk from the pocket of his jacket. He held it up in front of him and a ball of light appeared above it, hovering for a moment before flying out into the path ahead of them, illuminating the shadowy ravine. Lance tried to follow Keith, but his limbs may as well have been made of jelly, and he only managed to take a single step away from the bike before his legs buckled beneath him and left him to fall face-first into the sand.

“You okay?” Keith asked.

“Just peachy,” Lance grumbled, sending him a thumbs-up without bothering to lift his head. “How much farther from here?” he asked as he sat up and dusted himself off.

Keith glanced back down the ravine, tapping the mechanical disk against his thigh. “Not far. Shouldn’t take more than a quarter varga.”

“A quarter  _ what _ ? Gesundheit?”

Keith gave him a blank look and Lance sighed, using the side of the ravine as a prop as he pulled himself up. “Never mind.”

They continued down the ravine for a while in silence. Keith’s eyes glowed bright gold in the darkness, and Lance’s gaze traced over the dark lines that ran from beneath Keith’s eyes to the base of his neck. Lance knew he was staring a bit, but it was the first time he had seen Keith in his Galra form up close. Keith looked all at once strange and yet still recognizable, with giant fluffy ears and glowing eyes but with the same familiar face and messy black hair that Lance had grown to know.

Keith met his gaze and sighed, dipping his head. “I suppose you have questions.”

“Yeah, that’s an understatement.”

“Alright,” Keith said, showing about as much enthusiasm for the conversation as one might show about jumping into the mouth of a volcano. “What would you like to know?”

“Let’s start with, who were those guys and why are they trying to kill me?”

Keith looked down, narrowing his eyes. “The Galra Empire. They want to conquer the universe, and they’ll destroy anything or anyone that gets in their way. They’re after you because you’re a threat.”

Lance raised his eyebrows, sending Keith a disbelieving look. “Uh, what? Me? You sure you’ve got the right guy here? ‘Cause uh, last I checked, I’m not really an expert on the whole, ‘destroying evil empires’ gig.”

Keith stopped in his tracks, fixing Lance with a piercing stare. “You must have noticed it.”

Lance felt a chill run down his spine and he took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. “…Noticed what?”

“I’m not an idiot, Lance, and neither are you. You blocked a laser blast with your bare hand. You’re  _ powerful.” _

Lance looked away, fixing his gaze on the ground. “I— I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re afraid.”

“I’m  _ not  _ afraid!”

“You are!”

“I’m not! I just— I can’t, okay? It’s better if no one knows about— that I’m not normal. It makes everything complicated. People ask questions, they— they come after my family—”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Lance, but nothing about this situation complies to your definition of normal.”

Lance turned away, hunching his shoulders. “Forget it. Let’s just keep walking.”

Keith made a frustrated noise and jogged to catch up to Lance. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “This is why I didn’t want to— I’m no good at this stuff.”

Lance snorted. “Yeah, no kidding.” Keith looked up at him, his brows drawn together, and Lance grinned, bumping Keith’s shoulder with his own. “It’s okay, Mullet.” Lance sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “You’re right, though. I guess I am afraid.” He bit his lip. “Do you know what’s happening to me? Why I’m like this?”

Keith was silent for a moment. The sphere of light ahead of them illuminated a small ebony ship tucked against the side of the ravine, and Lance recognized it as the alien ship he had chased after many nights before.

“You have Altean blood in your veins,” Keith said finally.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s… kind of a long story, and I’m not sure I’m the best person to tell it.” Keith moved ahead of Lance, pulling out a strange looking remote. The bright violet lights on the side of the ship flickered on, the doors at the back slid open with a dull mechanical whir, and a small ramp descended into the sandy bank. “Long story short, Alteans are aliens, like the Galra,” Keith continued. “They created a weapon powerful enough to stand against the force of the Galra empire, but only someone with Altean blood would be able to pilot it. And you… you’re one of the few left in the universe with Altean heritage. You might be the only person who stands a chance of defeating the Galra Empire.”

“Me? You think I’m…” Lance’s pace slowed. “Look, there’s no way… I’m barely a pilot, and you think I can save the  _ universe _ ?”

“No. I don’t.” Keith walked up the ramp, disappearing into the ship’s hull. Lance came to the bottom of the ramp and peered into the ship’s dimly lit interior, watching as Keith rummaged through stacks of crates before pulling out a single small box. “But I think you have a chance. And in the end, that’s what we’re all fighting for.” Keith pressed a button on the side of the box and the lid clicked open. He reached in and took out a small glowing object, cradling it in the palm of his hands.

Lance inched forward, curious. In Keith’s hands was a small, pale blue crystal, and Keith held it up, offering it to him.

Almost immediately, Lance could feel the air around him prickle with electricity, and a familiar hum thrummed against his ears. He shrunk away from the crystal, his hands reaching up to cover the tips of his ears instinctively.

“It’s okay,” Keith said gently. “You don’t have anything to be afraid of.”

Lance’s gaze flitted from the small crystal to Keith’s face. Keith, who was currently standing in full Galra form in front of him; who had already revealed himself to Lance for what he truly was.

Lance took a quick breath, letting his hands fall away from his ears and stepping up the ramp. If Keith could do it, so could he.

The hum around Lance grew louder, but this time, he didn’t shy away from it. He reached out, taking the crystal from Keith’s hands, and his gaze caught on his reflection in the sleek metal of the ship. He walked towards it, balancing the crystal on one hand and reaching up to trace the small blue crescents that had appeared under his eyes with the other. His hair had gone completely white, and the tips of his ears had become pointed.

He could still feel the hum pulsing around him, and for the first time, he let himself explore it. Energy crackled around his fingertips, and the violet lights of the ship grew brighter and brighter until they were almost blinding.

He was  _ powerful. _ He was far more powerful than he ever could have imagined.

“Uh, Lance?” Keith’s voice cut in. “Look, it’s great that you’re having a moment and everything, but if you could maybe do that without destroying my ship, I’d really appreciate it.”

Lance blinked, shaking his head a bit, feeling as though he had been broken out of a trance. The lights around them dimmed, and Lance turned to face Keith.

“What is this thing?” Lance asked, handing the crystal back.

“Balmera crystal. They’re used to enhance the user’s quintessence, but they’re really rare.”

“Quintessence?” Lance repeated, glancing back at his reflection. Without the crystal, his hair turned back to a dark brown, the crescents beneath his eyes changed back into dark skin and freckles, and the pointed tips of his ears became rounded.

“You know… life force, magical energy, that type of thing.”

“Huh.” Lance’s gaze shifted back to the crystal in Keith’s hands. “So why do you have one?”

“Stole it,” Keith said shortly, tucking the crystal into the inside pocket of his jacket. Lance followed the motion, his brows drawing together slightly.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Keith narrowed his eyes, then jerked his head towards the cabin of the ship. “We need to get moving.”

Lance frowned, but decided to follow Keith’s lead and drop the conversation. The cabin lit up as they entered, and Lance scanned over the unfamiliar technology that lined the walls. He reached up to press one of the buttons experimentally, but Keith swatted his hand away.

“As soon as the Galra see us, all hell’s going to break loose,” Keith said. He sat down in the pilot’s seat and pulled the seatbelt over his chest, fastening it with a click. “I’ll do everything I can to get us out of here, but I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Our chances of making it past them in one piece aren’t good.”

Lance nodded, his throat feeling tight as he took the passenger seat, setting his messenger bag down on the floor beside it. The dashboard in front of them flooded with dim violet light as Keith grabbed the control wheel with one hand, using the other to tap on several of the buttons covering the panel. The engine roared to life and Keith leaned back in his chair, his other hand coming to rest on the control wheel.

“Alright,” Keith muttered, “here goes nothing.” He tipped the control wheel upward and the ship pulled into the air, gliding toward the crest of the ravine. “Once we’re clear of the planet’s atmosphere, I’m going to make the jump to lightspeed,” he said, his eyes narrowed and his brows drawn together in a determined scowl. “This is a stealth cruiser, so hopefully they won’t be able to track us after that.”

“Hopefully?”

“If we stick around long enough, they might be able to lock onto our ship’s signature. Then not even the jump will lose them.”

The ship rose out of the ravine and Lance caught a glimpse of the Galra battleship looming in the distance. Keith thrust the control wheel up and forward and Lance was pinned against his seat as the ship pulled up until it was almost parallel to the ground.

Laser fire erupted around them and Lance’s grip on his seatbelt tightened as he saw the horde of Galra ships emerge from the planet’s surface. They were surrounded.

But he knew that if anyone could get them out of this, Keith could.

The cabin filled with blinding light and Keith wrenched the controls to the left, pulling away from a large laser blast that cut across the sky like a searing knife. The ship shuddered beneath them as a wave of laser fire connected with the back of it and Keith cursed under his breath, swinging the ship around and opening fire on the fighters tailing them. The violet lights of the cabin turned crimson as an alarm blared through the ship, and Keith glanced over his shoulder, his expression going stony.

“Lance, you have to take the controls.”

“What? Me? But I don’t—”

“We’re losing power. If I don’t get back there and do something, we’ll fall out of the sky.” Keith pulled under the incoming Galra fighters, but the ship’s movements were becoming slow and sluggish, and the side of the right wing clipped against one of the fighters.

“I can’t—”

“Lance.” Keith turned to face him, his eyes locking with Lance’s for a heartbeat, crimson light framing his silhouette for a moment before fading. “You can do this. You  _ have  _ to do this.”

With that, Keith released the controls and stood from his seat, gripping the back of the chair to steady himself as a violent tremor shook the ship. Lance let out a shriek, fumbling to quickly unclip his seatbelt before dashing to the pilot’s seat. He grabbed the controls and wrenched them up, pulling the ship out of its nosedive, then cast a quick glance over his shoulder as Keith staggered towards the hull of the ship.

“Right,” Lance muttered, turning his attention back to the scene outside the windows of the ship. “Just learn how to pilot an alien ship with an entire fleet of fighters attacking us and our lives on the line, Lance. No pressure.” He swung the ship to the right to avoid a throng of Galra fighters heading towards him. “Guns,” he said under his breath, feeling along the back of the control wheel with his fingertips. “Where… where are the…” His index finger brushed against the indent of a button and he pulled the ship up, lining it up with a Galra fighter before pulling the trigger.

But instead of sending the fighter into a fiery explosion, windshield wipers flicked across the window of the ship. “Okay, so not that one.” Lance yanked the ship back and to the left, pulling it out of the fighter’s line of fire. “Keith, how are we doing?”

Keith let out a frustrated growl in response, followed by the sound of metal clanging against metal.

“That bad, huh?” Lance watched as the towering Galra battleship came into view in front of the ship, partially obscured by the windshield wipers flitting across the glass. “Yeah, we’re gonna die.”

The lights on the dashboard flickered before going dark.

“Uh, Keith?” Lance said.

“Just give me a dobosh!”

“A  _ what!?” _

The front of the ship dipped towards the surface of the planet. Lance yanked the control wheel up, but the ship remained unresponsive.

“Keith, we’re losing altitude! Whatever you’re planning on doing, do it fast!”

Keith didn’t respond. The ship continued to sink towards the ground, gaining momentum, and shadows fell over the surface of the planet as the swarm of Galra ships descended on them.

“Come on,” Lance muttered, panic seeping into his veins. His grip on the control wheel tightened as the surface of the planet loomed closer and closer.

A muffled click sounded from the hull of the ship. The cabin flooded with violet light, and the dashboard lit up in front of Lance.

“Hold on!” Lance yelled back at Keith, then he pulled up on the control wheel with everything he had, throwing his weight into the motion. The ship’s momentum shifted and Lance was pressed against his seat as the front of the ship tilted towards the sky. The Galra fighters were slower to pull up, and many of them ended up crashing into the surface of the planet. Lance used that advantage to gain back the altitude they had lost, until the only thing standing between them and open space was the Galra battleship.

The sky filled with sharp light as another laser beam sliced across it, emanating from a large cannon poised on the bridge of the battleship. Lance pulled the ship above the blast, his fingers running over the back of the control wheel until he found another button notched into it. He charged the ship towards the cannon, careful to stay out of the path of the beam, then used the split second window he had when the front of the ship lined up with the face of the cannon and pulled the trigger.

The shot hit its mark, and Lance pulled up as the laser blast became uneven and unstable, scorching the bridge of the battleship. The cannon burst and the explosion rattled the windows of Keith’s ship, but Lance didn’t stick around to see the aftermath.

“Keith, we’re clear,” Lance called, some of the tension in his shoulders falling away as the ship broke free of Nexlii’s atmosphere. But it quickly returned as the hull of the ship remained silent. “Keith?” Lance turned back in his seat, panic welling up in his chest as once again Keith failed to respond.

“I’m here,” Keith said finally, and Lance let out a small sigh of relief. “The coordinates are already set, just activate the lightspeed booster.”

Lance frowned, scanning over the hundreds of buttons and levers that covered the dashboard. “Uh.”

“The lever near the control wheel.”

“Which one?”

“Just pick one!”

Lance grabbed the nearest lever and thrust it forward. The roar of the engine grew louder and louder until the ship shot forward, and Lance shielded his eyes with his arm as the stars around him warped into brilliant streaks of light.

It was over in an instant, and Lance leaned forward in his chair, feeling a bit dazed as he tentatively peered beyond the dashboard. But outside the windows of the ship lie nothing but an empty expanse of space.

“Uh, Keith?” Lance said. “You sure you put in the right coordinates? There’s nothing here.”

The sound of footsteps echoed from the hull of the ship, and Lance glanced back as Keith re-entered the cabin. He gave Keith a quick once-over, but aside from looking a bit disheveled, Keith seemed to be unharmed.

“Couldn’t risk leading the Empire to our base,” Keith said. “We’ll have to schedule a pickup in case they caught on to our ship’s signature.”

Lance got up and slipped back into the passenger seat, allowing Keith to take over in front of the controls. Keith tapped on a few buttons on the dashboard and a fluorescent blue screen appeared above it.

“Kolivan,” Keith acknowledged the stone-faced Galra onscreen. “My mission was compromised. I’m at the rendezvous point, but I’m going to keep moving towards the Nearova belt in case the Empire is following me.”

“What of the Altean?” Kolivan asked.

“He’s—”

“Nice to meet you!” Lance interrupted, leaning in front of the screen and giving it a little wave. “I have a name, by the way. It’s Lance.”

Kolivan met his gaze for a moment, his expression unchanging, then he turned back to Keith. “I will send someone to pick you up immediately.” Keith dipped his head in response and the screen flickered a moment before fading.

“Well. He seems… pleasant,” Lance commented. He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest as he gazed out of the windows of the ship, his eyes tracing over the unfamiliar patterns of stars. “So what now?”

“Now? We wait for a pickup.”

“No, I mean like… where do we go from here?” Lance’s mouth pulled into a frown, and his arms tightened around himself until his fingernails pressed into the fabric of his jacket. “I mean, if there really is an entire intergalactic empire looking for me…” He sighed, feeling his stomach twist as the worry that he had been pushing to the back of his mind all night boiled over. “Will I ever get to go home?”

Keith was silent for a long moment, and Lance looked up to find him staring out the window with a carefully hardened expression.

“I don’t know,” Keith said finally, softly. “I’m sorry. I don’t… I’m not the best person to ask about this.”

Lance let out the breath he had been holding slowly, his head dropping back against his seat. There was silence between them then, and a tension in the air so thick it was almost tangible.

“Lance—” Keith started, but before he could finish, the fluorescent blue screen lit up on the dashboard. A hooded figure appeared onscreen, wearing a mask covered with glowing markings that looked similar to the one Keith had been wearing the night Lance had first seen him.

“We’re here,” the masked figure announced. “Stand by and prepare to board.”

Keith gave a nod of acknowledgement, then cut the engine. He reached over to a keypad tucked away in the top left corner of the dashboard and his fingers danced across the buttons.

“What’s that?” Lance asked.

“Self-destruct mechanism.”

“Oh. Great,” Lance muttered, suddenly in more of a hurry to get his seatbelt undone. 

He stood up after Keith and followed him back to the hull of the ship, snatching his messenger bag up from where it had slid into the back corner of the cabin. Keith stopped by one of the crates in the cargo hull and opened it, pulling out a dark spacesuit, which he folded up and tucked under his arm.

The ground lurched beneath their feet, and Lance leaned against the side of the ship to steady himself. Keith barely seemed to notice the motion, and he took a few steps toward the back door of the ship. It slid open with a mechanical whir, revealing a dimly lit hallway occupied by three tall figures, all dressed in identical dark hooded space suits with their faces obscured by masks.

The figure in the center stepped forward, leaning against the doorframe and crossing one leg over the other. “Kirak. Botched another mission, I see,” she noted, a teasing lilt to her voice.

“I didn’t botch anything,” Keith said with a scowl.

“Of course not.” She turned to Lance, her head tilting slightly. “And you must be what all the fuss is about. Huh. I thought you’d be taller.”

Lance bristled, but before he could give a retort, the masked Galra waved her hand dismissively.

“Anyway, we’d better get moving. You two have probably seen more than enough of the Empire for today.” With that, she pushed off of the door and started back down the hallway. Keith and Lance followed, and as soon as the door to Keith’s ship slid closed behind them, the masked Galra tapped a finger against the side of her mask. “We’re clear. Get us out of here.”

The ground jolted beneath their feet again, and Keith caught Lance’s arm as he staggered a bit.

“I’m Ezor, by the way,” the masked Galra said as the five of them continued down the hallway, their footsteps echoing in the small space. “These two are Acxa and Zethrid, and you’ve already met Kirak.”

Lance stared at Keith, his mouth dropping open. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. Your name is  _ Kirak?” _

Keith shrugged, staring at the ground. “You can still call me Keith if you want.”

Ahead of them, the hallway opened up into the ship’s bridge, a large, triangular room framed by large windows and control dashboards. Ezor’s two companions immediately separated from the group as they entered the bridge, going to assist the other Galra working at the controls.

“You two might want to get comfortable. We’ve still got a couple vargas before the lightspeed booster’s ready for another jump,” Ezor said, giving them a salute before going to join her companions.

Keith sat down in one of the chairs lining the center of the bridge, and Lance sunk into the chair next to him. The bridge fell into a comfortable silence, and Lance leaned back in his seat, letting out a heavy sigh as he watched the windows. Now that they were out of immediate danger, exhaustion was starting to seep into his bones, and his eyelids were growing heavier by the second. He rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to keep himself awake, but stopped as he felt Keith nudge his arm.

“You should get some rest,” Keith said quietly.

“Not tired,” Lance murmured, which probably would have been a bit more convincing if he didn’t let out a yawn immediately after saying it. Keith snorted and Lance sent him a glare. “Shut up.”

“Didn’t say anything.”

Lance let his head fall back against the chair, fidgeting to try to get into a more comfortable position, but nothing felt right.

“You can use my shoulder if you want,” Keith said, fidgeting with the sleeves of his jacket and not meeting Lance’s gaze.

Lance blinked at him, then hesitated a moment before letting his head fall onto Keith’s shoulder. He grimaced as his cheeks grew warm, and peeked up at Keith to see if he’d noticed. He allowed himself a small smile when he saw that Keith’s face was flushed red as well.

Lance let his eyes fall closed, his consciousness slowly slipping away. Just before he drifted off, he felt something warm settle against the top of his head, and he let out a soft sigh of contentment.

\---

“Lance.”

Lance groaned in response, keeping his eyes closed and shrinking in on himself, contorting his face into a scowl. His back hurt, everything ached, and it was decidedly way too early for someone to be bothering him.

“Lance, we’re here.”

“Here can wait. Five more hours.”

Lance heard someone chuckle softly and something poked his cheek. He swatted it away with a grunt.

The ground jolted beneath him and Lance finally opened his eyes, memories flooding back to him as he found himself back on the bridge of the Galra cruiser. But the starry expanse of space outside the windows of the bridge had been replaced with a dimly lit hangar. The engine of the cruiser fell silent, and as Lance watched, the ebony-clad crew began filing out of the cabin.

Lance’s head was still resting on Keith’s shoulder, and he felt his face heat up as he realized he had curled up against Keith’s side.

“We should get moving before we get locked in the ship,” Keith said, nudging Lance’s arm.

Lance let out another groan and reluctantly pulled himself to his feet, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He let Keith lead him out of the cruiser, blinking sleepily and wrapping his arms around his chest to keep warm.

“So, uh… where exactly are we?” Lance asked as they descended the ship’s ramp, his gaze sweeping over the expansive hangar they had landed in. It was bigger than the hangar at the Garrison station by a long shot, and filled with strange alien ships, some Galra, some like nothing Lance had ever seen before. He caught sight of more Galra agents walking about, and some of them watched him curiously.

“The Blade of Marmora base,” Keith replied as he started down one of the metal hallways branching off of the hangar. The hallway was even darker than the hangar, lit only by small violet lights that were few and far between, and Lance was finding it harder and harder to stay awake.

“Man, you guys sure like purple, huh?” Lance mumbled, scrubbing his hands over his eyes in an effort to keep himself from falling asleep on his feet. Keith stopped in front of one of the rooms lining the hallway, and Lance just barely managed to pull back before he ran into him.

“We’ll go to see Kolivan tomorrow,” Keith said, pressing the palm of his hand against a panel on the side of the door. “He’ll explain everything. He’s… better at talking about this stuff than I am.”

Beyond the door lay a small vacant room, furnished only by a small bed built into the right wall and a desk and chair next to the left. Lance took a step forward, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked the room over, but aside from the bed and desk, it was completely empty.  

“I’m not sure if we have any spare rooms, so… we’ll just have to make this work for now,” Keith said as he stepped forward, tugging on the sleeve of his jacket and wringing the fabric between his fingertips. 

“Oh,” Lance said, and then his gaze fell back to the small, single person bed tucked away in the corner of the room.  _ Oh. _

Lance pulled the collar of his jacket up, hoping to hide his face as he felt his cheeks warm.

“So, uh…” Keith looked at the ground, shifting his weight awkwardly. “How do you wanna do this? I mean, I can sleep on the floor, or…”

“Nah,” Lance said, then cleared his throat as his voice came out several octaves higher than normal. “Nah, it’s uh, it’s cool. We can just… you know…” He gestured at the bed vaguely. “It’s cool,” he repeated. “I mean, I have siblings, so you know. I’m used to bed sharing.” Which was true, but climbing into bed with his older brother Luis after he had a nightmare when he was nine and sharing a bed with  _ Keith  _ of all people were two completely different things and  _ oh god why did he think he could do this. _

Keith gave a short nod, and Lance took a small bit of comfort from seeing that at least Keith looked as freaked out about the whole situation as he did (though the more he thought about that, the more he started to feel a small prick of offense mixed with another emotion he was definitely not going to analyze right now).

Lance sat down on the edge of the bed, setting his messenger bag on the floor and pulling his boots off before scooting over next to the wall. He pulled the blanket up to his chest as Keith settled in next to him, hoping the blush that was undoubtedly covering his face wasn’t too blatant. Calling his position uncomfortable would be an understatement; the bed felt like it was made of a thin sheet pinned on top of a metal board, and there was barely enough room for one person on it, let alone two.

“Move over, will you? I’m practically hanging off the edge here,” Keith grumbled, jabbing Lance’s side with his elbow.

“There’s nowhere for me to go, Keith! And stop hogging the blanket!”

“I’m  _ not!”  _

Their bickering died down after a while, but despite how exhausted Lance felt, he suddenly found that falling asleep was nearly impossible. When he closed his eyes, he was plagued with visions of the Galra commander’s snarling face, or of the violet ground hundreds of feet beneath him drawing rapidly closer. And when he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by a room that was cold and dark and unfamiliar. His mind was filled to the brim with too many questions and not enough answers, and his heart ached when thought of what he’d left behind.

Keith had curled up with his back to Lance, and Lance was pretty sure he had fallen asleep, because he didn’t complain when Lance pulled a couple more inches of the blanket over to his side. Lance sighed, using his arm to cushion the back of his head and forcing his eyes closed. He eventually drifted off into a light, fitful sleep, but was woken up what felt like only minutes later by a loud thump.

He opened his eyes. Standing in the center of the room was a tall, dark figure with glowing yellow eyes. Lance let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“Lance.  _ Lance!  _ It’s just me!” Keith growled, flicking the light on.

“Keith!? The hell’re you doing, trying to give me a heart attack!?”

“You pushed me off the bed!”

Lance opened his mouth to protest, but his words died in his throat as he realized he was lying on the very edge of the bed with one arm and one leg dangling over the side. “Oh.”

“Yeah,  _ oh. _ Now move over, I’m taking the side near the wall.”

A few moments filled with more elbow jabs and arguing over the blanket later, Lance finally managed to fall back asleep, but it wasn’t long after that that he found himself landing on the cold metal ground beside the bed. He sat up and dusted himself off before sending a glare to Keith, who was fast asleep on the very edge of the bed, blissfully unaware of Lance’s predicament. 

But Lance’s expression softened as he caught sight of Keith’s face. Keith looked more calm and peaceful than Lance had ever seen him, and the worry lines and dark circles beneath his eyes that had appeared over the last few days had all but faded.

Lance sighed, reaching out and tucking a stray lock of inky black hair behind Keith’s ear. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” he grumbled, pulling himself up and gently moving Keith closer to the wall, trying not to wake him.

“Lance?” Keith said sleepily, his brows furrowing together as he reached out into the space next to him, his eyes still closed.

“I’m here,” Lance said, taking Keith’s hand and gently squeezing it. “Just go back to sleep, okay?” Lance settled down in the space next to Keith and Keith curled into his side, resting his head against Lance’s shoulder. 

Lance froze, then slowly let out the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. He hesitated a moment, then shifted onto his side and gently draped his arm around Keith’s back.

“Is this okay?” Lance asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“Mmhm,” Keith mumbled absently, pillowing his head against Lance’s chest.

“Okay,” Lance said. He tried to stay as still as possible, hardly daring to breathe out of fear that the tiniest motion would be enough to shatter the moment and cause both of them to pull apart after realizing the embarrassing intimacy of their situation. 

But as time went on and the peace remained unbroken, Lance allowed himself to relax. He wrapped his arms tighter around Keith, and rested his chin on the top of Keith’s head. It wasn’t long after that that he drifted off into a deep sleep.

\---

“You ready?”

Lance’s eyes traced over the violet bars of light that ran across the tall metal door that blocked his and Keith’s path. He let out a slow, heavy breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Keith pressed his palm against the panel on the side of the door. It slid open to reveal a spacious room with stairs at the back leading up to large, floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the hangar of the base. Two masked agents flanked the stone-faced Galra in the center of the room, and Lance recognized him as the Galra who had contacted Keith before.

“Kolivan,” Keith said in greeting. 

Kolivan dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. Then his gaze shifted to Lance.

“Uh, hey,” Lance said awkwardly, giving him a wave. “Keith— er, well, Kirak, I guess— told me that you could explain what’s going on.”

“Yes,” Kolivan said. “I suppose it is time.” He narrowed his eyes, clasping his hands together behind his back. “But first, you must prove yourself.”

“You can’t be serious,” Keith growled. He marched forward, putting himself between Kolivan and Lance, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “After everything we’ve been through—”

“You know our code. Knowledge or death,” Kolivan said, his voice remaining emotionless.

“Uh, can I choose knowledge?” Lance asked hopefully.

“This isn’t a game!” Keith snapped at Kolivan. “You  _ know  _ what’s at stake here!”

“If he wants to find his destiny, let him prove it,” Kolivan said.

“He’s already proven himself to me a thousand times over! If you won’t tell him, I will.” Keith crossed his arms over his chest, unflinching under Kolivan’s gaze, and a thick silence fell over the room.

“...So be it,” Kolivan said finally, a cold edge to his voice.

Keith moved back to Lance’s side. Lance tried to catch his eye, but Keith pointedly avoided his gaze.

“You.” Kolivan’s voice pierced through the silence, and Lance’s gaze snapped back to him. “How much do you know?”

“Uh,” Lance said, suddenly uncomfortable with being the center of attention. “That I’m… part Altean?” he started. “And that I’m supposed to be able to use some sort of weapon or something.”

Kolivan nodded. He was silent for a moment, and Lance clenched and unclenched his hands into fists at his side, nervous apprehension bubbling in his chest.

“The weapon’s name is Voltron. It’s a ship,” Kolivan started.

Lance felt as though an invisible wall had slammed into his chest, knocking the breath from his lungs.  _ Voltron.  _ He knew that name, though he wasn’t sure when he had heard it before. The name echoed in his mind with resounding familiarity and importance, tethered to something between a memory and a feeling that remained just out of reach.

“It was built as a last resort by the Alteans in the fight against the Galra Empire,” Kolivan continued, dragging Lance from his thoughts. “But as the Galra drew closer to victory, the king of Altea decided to send Voltron away out of fear of what would happen if the Galra got their hands on it.”

“So… do you know where it is?” Lance asked.

Kolivan shook his head. “It was taken to Earth and hidden for years, but it didn’t take long for the Galra to find out what happened. The ship’s pilot used Voltron to protect Earth and lead the Galra away, but neither him or the ship have been seen since then.”

Lance took a moment to review the information Kolivan had given him, suddenly feeling lightheaded as the pieces fell into place.  _ Earth. The ship’s pilot _ — “My father,” Lance concluded, staggering backwards and running his hands through his hair as the weight of the realization fell on him. “Oh, my god…”

_ Neither him or the ship have been seen since then. _

Lance took another step back, his hands starting to shake. Keith moved towards him, his brow tightened in concern. He offered Lance his hand awkwardly, saying something that Lance couldn’t hear over the ringing in his ears. Lance grabbed Keith’s hand like it was a lifeline, letting the warmth spreading through his palm ground him.

“That’s—”  _ Impossible,  _ Lance wanted to say, but he knew it was anything but.

The day he had left for the Garrison, his mamá had tears in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him tightly, her voice coming out muffled and shaky as she buried her face in his shoulder.

_ “You’ve always been a child of the stars, just like your papá,”  _ she had said,  _ “and I know they call to you, but I fear for the day I’ll lose you to them, just as I lost him.” _

Keith took another step towards Lance, raising his hand to Lance’s cheek and wiping away the warm wetness that had gathered there. Lance hadn’t even realized he had started crying.

“Do you want to take a break?” Keith asked softly. “The rest is easier, I promise.”

Lance closed his eyes, drawing in a shaky breath. “I can handle it.” He met Kolivan’s gaze again and Kolivan gave a nod of acknowledgement.

“Your father told us about you before he disappeared,” Kolivan said. “He wanted us to protect you in case the Galra found you, but not to intervene in your life unless it became necessary.”

“And then you went and got yourself stationed on a planet right on the brink of Galra territory,” Keith said, nudging Lance’s shoulder.

“That’s why I sent Kirak to keep an eye on you, and get you out of there if it became necessary,” Kolivan explained.

Lance nodded, rubbing the palm of his hand against his forehead. “Alright. I— I think I need a moment.”

Kolivan nodded. “Take all the time you need.”

\---

Lance started towards the door and Keith moved to follow him, but he had only taken a single step before Kolivan called him back. Lance looked over his shoulder and met Keith’s gaze, his brow furrowing. But he hesitated only a moment before continuing out into the hall, and the door slid shut behind him.

Keith slowly turned back to face Kolivan, bracing himself for the inevitable reprehension for his outburst earlier.

But Kolivan’s expression betrayed nothing as he studied Keith. “You’ve grown attached,” he noted.

Keith crossed his arms over his chest defensively. “So what if I have?”

“You know that attachment is a weakness a Blade cannot afford.”

Keith dropped his arms to his sides, his hands clenching into fists. “You’re the one that told me to get close to him in the first place!”

“It was necessary for the mission that he trust you. Now you must let go.”

Keith’s nails dug into the palms of his hands as the cold, gaping hole in his chest threatened to swallow him whole. He fixed his gaze on the ground, silently willing his eyes to stop burning.

“I know that our laws are harsh,” Kolivan continued, an edge of sympathy seeping into his voice, “but they are necessary to ensure the survival of our organization and the fight against the Galra Empire.”

Keith scrubbed a hand over his eyes, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He took a deep breath to compose himself before he met Kolivan’s gaze again. “I understand,” he said, keeping his voice level and emotionless.

“Good. I have a new mission for you.”

Keith blinked, feeling as though the ground had been ripped from beneath his feet. “Already?”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we continue the search for Voltron.” Kolivan descended the stairs, crossing the distance between them and handing Keith a small tablet. “Everything you need to know about the mission is on here. You will depart immediately.”

Keith took the tablet, catching sight of his own dismal expression reflected on its face. “Can I at least say goodbye first?” he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Kolivan hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Very well. Good luck.”

Keith bowed his head in response, not trusting himself to speak.

\---

Lance wandered the corridors of the Marmora base aimlessly, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket and his head lowered. It was all so much— too much. He wasn’t sure how long he had been walking or where he was going, but at the moment, he didn’t particularly care.

He paused as he came to a sealed door, and he pressed his hand against the panel beside it experimentally. But the door didn’t budge, so Lance sent it a glare before turning away. He had only taken a few steps before he heard the door slide open behind him. He whirled around, prepared to accuse the door of mocking him, but his words died in his throat as he caught sight of the figure standing in the doorway.

“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,” Keith said, sounding a bit out of breath as he crossed the distance between them. 

“Sorry,” Lance said. He tried to give Keith a smile, but it must not have been very convincing because Keith’s face immediately contorted with worry.

“How are you doing?” Keith asked. “I know this… all of this must be a lot.”

Lance huffed out a laugh, dipping his head. “Yeah, no kidding.”

He looked up again to find Keith giving him a strange look, with his brows furrowed together and his head tilted to the side as he chewed his bottom lip. Keith crossed his arms over his chest, looking away for a moment and taking a deep breath before he met Lance’s gaze again.

“Lance, I—” Keith’s words were interrupted by a sharp buzzing noise, and he visibly deflated, his shoulders slumping and his face falling as he pulled a small radio-like device out of his pocket and silenced the noise. “I have to go.”

Lance felt a knot form in his chest. “Go? Where?”

“Kolivan gave me a new mission. I have to leave immediately, and I— damn it, I know I’m already late,” Keith growled, silencing the radio again as the buzzing noise started up once more. He hesitated a moment, scowling at the ground, and the hallway was silent except for the rustling of Keith’s jacket as he stuffed the small radio back into his pocket. “I came to say goodbye,” Keith said finally, his voice barely audible.

The knot in Lance’s chest twisted painfully. “Goodbye? You mean, like... forever?”

Keith shrugged, still not meeting Lance’s gaze. “I don’t know. I hope not.”

“Oh,” Lance said, his voice faint. He wasn’t sure what else to say— a million combinations of words crossed his mind, but all of them were too selfish or too terrifying to give voice to. “So… that’s it, then?” he said instead.   
  
“Guess so.” Keith fell silent for a moment. And in that moment, Lance thought that maybe he’d like to be selfish, that maybe he’d like to be bold, that maybe he’d like to tell Keith all the things he hadn’t even been able to admit to himself. 

But he waited too long, and the moment slipped away. 

“Good luck, Lance,” Keith said without meeting his gaze. And with that, he turned away, and the door slid closed behind him before Lance had the chance to respond.    
  
And just like that, he was gone, leaving Lance standing alone in the empty hallway.   
  
“You too,” Lance said quietly, to no one.


End file.
